Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations (SOR/2005-313)

Interpretation

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act

Act means the Motor Vehicle Transport Act. (Loi)

adverse driving conditions

adverse driving conditions means snow, sleet, fog or other adverse weather or road conditions that were not known to a driver or a motor carrier dispatching a driver immediately before the driver began driving or could not reasonably have been known to them. (mauvaises conditions de circulation)

co-driver

co-driver means a person who is present in a commercial vehicle because of having been, or being about to be, its driver. (coconducteur)

commercial vehicle

commercial vehicle means a vehicle that

• (a) is operated by a motor carrier and propelled otherwise than by muscular power; and

• (b) is a truck, tractor, trailer or any combination of them that has a registered gross vehicle weight in excess of 4 500 kg or a bus that is designed and constructed to have a designated seating capacity of more than 10 persons, including the driver. (véhicule utilitaire)

cycle

cycle means

• (a) cycle 1, under which on-duty time is accumulated over a period of 7 days; and

• (b) cycle 2, under which on-duty time is accumulated over a period of 14 days. (cycle)

daily log

daily log[Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 1]

day

day, in respect of a driver, means a 24-hour period that begins at the hour designated by the motor carrier for the duration of the driver’s cycle. (jour ou journée)

director

director means a federal director or a provincial director. (directeur)

driver

driver

• (a) means a person who drives a commercial vehicle;

• (b) means, in respect of a motor carrier, a person employed or otherwise engaged by the motor carrier to drive a commercial vehicle, including a self-employed driver; and

• (c) for the purposes of section 98, includes a co-driver. (conducteur)

duty status

duty status means any of the following periods:

• (a) off-duty time, other than time spent in a sleeper berth;

• (b) off-duty time spent in a sleeper berth;

• (c) driving time; or

• (d) on-duty time, other than driving time. (activité)

electronic logging device

electronic logging device or ELD means a device or technology that automatically records a driver’s driving time and facilitates the recording of the driver’s record of duty status, and that is certified by an accredited certification body under section 79.1. (dispositif de consignation électronique ou DCE)

electronic recording device

electronic recording device[Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 1]

emergency vehicle

emergency vehicle means a fire-fighting vehicle, ambulance, police vehicle or other vehicle that is used for emergency purposes. (véhicule de secours)

federal director

federal director means the Chief of the Motor Carriers Division of the Department of Transport. (directeur fédéral)

home terminal

home terminal means the place of business of a motor carrier at which a driver ordinarily reports for work and, for the purposes of recording information related to the driver’s record of duty status, includes a temporary work site designated by the motor carrier. (gare d’attache)

inspector

inspector means

• (a) a person designated under subsection 3(2); or

• (b) a peace officer within the meaning of section 2 of the Criminal Code. (inspecteur)

motor carrier

motor carrier means a person who is engaged in the operation of an extra-provincial bus undertaking or an extra-provincial truck undertaking. (transporteur routier)

off-duty time

off-duty time means any period other than on-duty time. (heures de repos)

oil well service vehicle

oil well service vehicle means a commercial vehicle that is

• (a) specially constructed, altered or equipped to accommodate a specific service requirement associated with the oil or natural gas industry; and

• (b) used exclusively in the oil or natural gas industry for transporting equipment or materials to and from oil or natural gas well facilities or for servicing and repairing those facilities. (véhicule de service de puits de pétrole)

on-duty time

on-duty time means the period that begins when a driver begins work or is required by the motor carrier to be available to work, except if the driver is waiting to be assigned to work, and that ends when the driver stops work or is relieved of responsibility by the motor carrier, and

• (a) includes driving time and time spent by the driver

  • (i) inspecting, servicing, repairing, conditioning, fuelling or starting a commercial vehicle,

  • (ii) travelling in a commercial vehicle as a co-driver, when the time is not spent in the sleeper berth,

  • (iii) participating in the loading or unloading of a commercial vehicle,

  • (iv) inspecting or checking the load of a commercial vehicle,

  • (v) waiting before and while a commercial vehicle is serviced, loaded, unloaded or dispatched,

  • (vi) waiting before and while a commercial vehicle or its load is inspected and the driver’s requirements are assessed, and, if relevant, the time spent taking the required remedial actions,

  • (vii) waiting at an en-route point because of an accident or other unplanned occurrence or situation,

  • (viii) resting in or occupying a commercial vehicle for any other purpose, except

    • (A) time counted as off-duty time in accordance with section 10,

    • (B) time spent in a sleeper berth,

    • (C) time spent in a stationary commercial vehicle to satisfy the requirements of subsection 14(3), and

    • (D) time spent in a stationary commercial vehicle that is in addition to the off-duty requirements of subsection 14(3),

  • (ix) performing any work for any motor carrier, and

  • (x) performing yard moves of a commercial vehicle within a terminal, depot or port and that is not on a public road; and

• (b) does not include driving time for the driver’s personal use, if

  • (i) the vehicle is not used in the course of the business of the motor carrier,

  • (ii) the vehicle has been unloaded,

  • (iii) any trailers have been unhitched,

  • (iv) the distance travelled does not exceed 75 km in a day,

  • (v) the driver had recorded in the record of duty status the odometer reading at the beginning and at the end of the personal use, and

  • (vi) the driver is not the subject of an out-of-service declaration under section 91. (heures de service)

out-of-service declaration

out-of-service declaration means a declaration issued by a director or inspector under section 91. (déclaration de mise hors service)

principal place of business

principal place of business means the place or places designated by the motor carrier where records of duty status and supporting documents are stored. (établissement principal)

record of duty status

record of duty status means a record in which a driver records the information required under section 77 or 82, as the case may be, for each day. (rapport d’activités)

sleeper berth

sleeper berth[Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 1]

supporting document

supporting document means any one of the following documents or information received or prepared by a driver in the course of their duties or received or prepared by the motor carrier:

• (a) any electronic mobile communication record reflecting communications between a driver and a motor carrier transmitted through a driver call-in or fleet management system;

• (b) any payroll record, settlement sheet or equivalent document that indicates payments to the driver;

• (c) any government-issued document indicating the location of the commercial vehicle;

• (d) any reports, receipts, records or other documentation relating to the load of the commercial vehicle, including any bill of lading, itinerary, schedule or equivalent document that indicates the origin and destination of each trip;

• (e) any reports, receipts, records or other documentation relating to the servicing, repairing, conditioning, fuelling, inspection or rental of the commercial vehicle; and

• (f) any reports, dispatch or trip records, receipts, or other documentation indicating the date, time, or location of the commercial vehicle during a trip, including arrival and departure times. (document justificatif)

Technical Standard

Technical Standard means the Technical Standard for Electronic Logging Devices, April 11, 2019, published by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, as amended from time to time, other than provision 4.5.1.11(b)(9) of that standard. (norme technique)

• 1.1 (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, every reference to “HOS Regulations” in the Technical Standard shall be read as a reference to these Regulations.

• (2) [Repealed, SOR/2020-240, s. 1]

• (3) [Repealed, SOR/2020-240, s. 1]

• (4) [Repealed, SOR/2020-240, s. 1]

Application

• 2 (1) These Regulations apply to all commercial vehicles other than the following:

  • (a) a two or three-axle commercial vehicle being used for

    • (i) transporting the primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake, if the driver or the motor carrier is the producer of the products, or

    • (ii) a return trip after transporting the primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake, if the vehicle is empty or is transporting products used in the principal operation of a farm, forest, sea or lake;

  • (b) an emergency vehicle; and

  • (c) a vehicle engaged in providing relief in the case of a public welfare emergency, as that expression is defined in section 5 of the Emergencies Act.

  • (d) [Repealed, SOR/2009-157, s. 1]

  • (e) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 3]

• (2) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 3]

Directors

• 3 (1) The minister responsible for highway safety in a province may designate a person to exercise in the province the duties and functions of a director for the purposes of these Regulations.

• (2) A director may designate inspectors for the purposes of these Regulations.

Responsibilities of Motor Carriers, Shippers, Consignees and Drivers

4 No motor carrier, shipper, consignee or other person shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive if

• (a) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 4]

• (b) driving would be likely to jeopardize the safety or health of the public, the driver or the employees of the motor carrier;

• (c) the driver is the subject of an out-of-service declaration; or

• (d) the driver, in doing so, would not be in compliance with these Regulations.

[5 to 9 reserved]

Travelling as a Passenger — Off-duty Time

10 If a driver who has, at the request of the motor carrier by whom the driver is employed or otherwise engaged, spent time travelling as a passenger, by any mode of transportation, to the destination at which the driver will begin driving takes 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before beginning to drive, the time spent as a passenger shall be counted as off-duty time.

Scheduling — Driving South of Latitude 60°N

Application

11 Sections 12 to 29 apply in respect of driving south of latitude 60°N.

Daily Driving and On-duty Time

• 12 (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 13 hours of driving time in a day.

• (2) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 14 hours of on-duty time in a day.

Mandatory Off-duty Time

• 13 (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 13 hours of driving time unless the driver takes at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.

• (2) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 14 hours of on-duty time unless the driver takes at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.

• (3) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after 16 hours of time have elapsed between the conclusion of the most recent period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time and the beginning of the next period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time.