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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