As the electronic logging device mandate took effect this week, Canada is taking the first steps to require the devices for Canadian truck drivers.

According to a notice in the Canada Gazette, which is the Canadian version of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Federal Register, 170,000 trucks are operated by federally regulated motor carriers in Canada. Some 80,000 of these are Canada-based vehicles that operate in the United States and are already subject to the U.S. ELD mandate.

“This will make truck drivers less prone to fatigue,” Transport Minister Marc Garneau said. “It will make our roads safer. For a number of years, the Canadian Trucking Alliance has been pointing to research that shows a universal Electronic Logging Device mandate would have a direct and immediate impact on curbing behaviors strongly linked with higher crash rates such as driving over [their] prescribed limits of service, which leads to fatigue.”

The mandate would only apply to federally regulated commercial vehicles, but Garneau believes that local governments should enact their own ELD mandates. The Canadian Trucking Alliance pledged to consult with provinces on how to roll out these devices as soon as possible.

“The U.S.’s experience in implementing ELDs has shown us that even with two years to prepare, there will be some in our sector that never choose to comply in time,” CTA Chairman Gene Orlick said. “While we need to be respectful of the transition-time requirements of ELD implementation to businesses and governments, we also must not manage to the lowest common denominator and ensure everybody is fairly complying with the rules.”

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