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

Regulations are current to 2024-10-30 and last amended on 2021-06-12. Previous Versions

Directors

  •  (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

 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  • (a) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 4]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

 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

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

Daily Driving and On-duty Time

  •  (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

  •  (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.

Daily Off-duty Time

  •  (1) A motor carrier shall ensure that a driver takes and the driver shall take at least 10 hours of off-duty time in a day.

  • (2) Off-duty time other than the mandatory 8 consecutive hours may be distributed throughout the day in blocks of no less than 30 minutes each.

  • (3) The total amount of off-duty time taken by a driver in a day shall include at least 2 hours of off-duty time that does not form part of a period of 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time required by section 13.

[15 reserved]

Deferral of Daily Off-duty Time

 Despite sections 12 and 14, a driver who is not splitting off-duty time in accordance with section 18 or 19 may defer a maximum of 2 hours of the daily off-duty time to the following day if

  • (a) the off-duty time deferred is not part of the mandatory 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time;

  • (b) the total off-duty time taken in the 2 days is at least 20 hours;

  • (c) the off-duty time deferred is added to the 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time taken in the second day;

  • (d) the total driving time in the 2 days does not exceed 26 hours; and

  • (e) there is a declaration in the record of duty status that states that the driver is deferring off-duty time under this section and that clearly indicates whether the driver is driving under day one or day two of that time.

Ferries

 Despite sections 13 and 14, a driver travelling by a ferry crossing that takes more than 5 hours is not required to take the mandatory 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time if

  • (a) the time spent resting in a sleeper berth while waiting at the terminal to board the ferry, in rest accommodations on the ferry and at a rest stop that is no more than 25 km from the point of disembarkation from the ferry combine to total a minimum of 8 hours;

  • (b) the hours are recorded in the record of duty status as off-duty time spent in a sleeper berth;

  • (c) the driver retains, as a supporting document, the receipt for the crossing and rest accommodation fees; and

  • (d) the supporting document coincides with the record of duty status entries.

Splitting of Daily Off-duty Time — Single Driver

  •  (1) A driver who is driving a commercial vehicle fitted with a sleeper berth may meet the mandatory off-duty time and daily off-duty time requirements of sections 13 and 14 by accumulating off-duty time in no more than 2 periods if

    • (a) neither period of off-duty time is shorter than 2 hours;

    • (b) the total of the 2 periods of off-duty time is at least 10 hours;

    • (c) the off-duty time is spent resting in the sleeper berth;

    • (c.1) the sleeper berth meets the requirements of Schedule 1;

    • (d) the total of the driving time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not exceed 13 hours;

    • (e) the elapsed time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not include any driving time after the 16th hour after the driver comes on-duty;

    • (f) none of the daily off-duty time is deferred to the next day; and

    • (g) the total of the on-duty time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time referred to in paragraph (b) does not include any driving time after the 14th hour.

  • (2) The 16th hour is calculated by

    • (a) excluding any period spent in the sleeper berth that is 2 hours or more in duration and that, when added to a subsequent period in the sleeper berth, totals at least 10 hours; and

    • (b) including

      • (i) all on-duty time,

      • (ii) all off-duty time not spent in the sleeper berth,

      • (iii) all periods of less than 2 hours spent in the sleeper berth, and

      • (iv) any other period spent in the sleeper berth that does not qualify as counting towards meeting the requirements of this section.

  • (3) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 6]

Splitting of Daily Off-duty Time — Team of Drivers

  •  (1) A team of drivers driving a commercial vehicle fitted with a sleeper berth may meet the mandatory off-duty time and daily off-duty time requirements of sections 13 and 14 by accumulating off-duty time in no more than 2 periods if

    • (a) neither period of off-duty time is shorter than 4 hours;

    • (b) the off-duty time is spent resting in the sleeper berth;

    • (c) the sleeper berth meets the requirements of Schedule 1;

    • (d) the total of the driving time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not exceed 13 hours;

    • (e) the elapsed time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not include any driving time after the 16th hour after the driver comes on duty;

    • (f) none of the daily off-duty time is deferred to the next day; and

    • (g) the total of the on-duty time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time referred to in paragraph (b) does not include any driving time after the 14th hour.

  • (2) The 16th hour is calculated by

    • (a) excluding any period spent in the sleeper berth that is 4 hours or more in duration and that, when added to a subsequent period in the sleeper berth, totals at least 8 hours; and

    • (b) including

      • (i) all on-duty time,

      • (ii) all off-duty time not spent in the sleeper berth,

      • (iii) all periods of less than 4 hours spent in the sleeper berth, and

      • (iv) any other period spent in the sleeper berth that does not qualify as counting towards meeting the requirements of this section.

  • (3) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 7]

[20 to 23 reserved]

Cycles

 A motor carrier shall require that a driver follows and the driver shall follow either cycle 1 or cycle 2.

 Subject to section 28, no motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive unless the driver has taken at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time in the preceding 14 days.

 Subject to section 28, no motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver who is following cycle 1 to drive, and no driver who is following cycle 1 shall drive, after the driver has accumulated 70 hours of on-duty time during any period of 7 days.

 Subject to section 28, no motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver who is following cycle 2 to drive and no driver who is following cycle 2 shall drive after the driver has accumulated

  • (a) 120 hours of on-duty time during any period of 14 days; or

  • (b) 70 hours of on-duty time without having taken at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time.

Cycle Reset — Off-duty Time

  •  (1) A driver may end the current cycle and begin a new cycle if the driver first takes the following off-duty time:

    • (a) for cycle 1, at least 36 consecutive hours; or

    • (b) for cycle 2, at least 72 consecutive hours.

  • (2) After taking the off-duty time, the driver begins a new cycle, the accumulated hours are set back to zero and the driver’s hours begin to accumulate again.

Cycle Switching — Off-duty Time

  •  (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to switch and no driver shall switch from one cycle to the other without first taking the following off-duty time before beginning to drive again:

    • (a) to switch from cycle 1 to cycle 2, at least 36 consecutive hours; or

    • (b) to switch from cycle 2 to cycle 1, at least 72 consecutive hours.

  • (2) After taking the off-duty time, the driver begins the other cycle, the accumulated hours are set back to zero and the driver’s hours begin to accumulate again.

[30 to 36 reserved]

Scheduling — Driving North of Latitude 60°N

Application

 Sections 39 to 54 apply in respect of driving north of latitude 60°N.

 [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 10]

Mandatory Off-duty Time

  •  (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated more than 15 hours of driving time or 18 hours of on-duty time unless they take 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 if more than 20 hours of time has 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.

 

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