Guides / Canadian ELD Mandate / 2. Research and insights

2. Research and insights

Now that you know what the mandate is, here are some resources to help you learn more.

Differences and similarities with the U.S. ELD Mandate

Canada used the U.S. mandate as a model and then customized it to fit its unique needs. The goal is to make the rules consistent with the U.S. Mandate for fleets operating in both Canada and the United States.

Similarities between the U.S. and Canadian mandates include:

  • Hours of Service (HOS) regulations are not changing.
  • Data retention: ELDs will have to put together and transfer an output file, and motor carriers will be required to keep drivers’ Records of Duty Status for six months.

Differences between the U.S. and Canadian mandates

Unlike the U.S. ELD Mandate, the Canadian version does not have a grandfather provision for ERDs (AOBRDs).

“The Canadian proposal included an exemption for 30-day rentals. This differs from the FMCSA granted exemption for eight-day, short-term rentals.”

—Travis Baskin, Head of Regulatory Affairs

  • Personal conveyance rules between the two countries are quite different. Travis Baskin, Motive’s Head of Regulatory Affairs, explains, “While there are no time or distance restrictions for personal conveyance in the U.S., Canadian regulations don’t allow folks to drive in personal conveyance beyond 75 kilometers, or about 46.6 miles, in a given day. Drivers also can’t exceed 32 km/h, or 20 mph when driving in yard move.”
  • For exemption rules, Baskin says, “For the Canadian regulation, drivers would use paper records of duty status if their vehicle was manufactured before the year 2000 or if they’re operating rental trucks for 30 days or less. But if those don’t apply, and you’re not running under a permit or exemption, you have to keep all of your RODS with an ELD.”
  • There is no driveaway-towaway exemption in the Canadian ELD mandate.
  • All Canadian ELDs will need to be certified by an accredited third party that will test it against the Canadian standard.

Mandate outcomes that Canada can anticipate

As you might expect with a new mandate, there are some unintended consequences. Canada has an opportunity to take advantage of the lessons learned in the United States while implementing its own ELD mandate.

Unchanging detention times

There was some expectation that ELDs might improve detention times in the United States. Those hopes have been mostly dashed as detention times have either not changed or gotten worse.

Parking shortages

Parking is number four on the ATRI’s list of pressing concerns for the trucking industry. No longer being able to go down the road, drivers have to stop. And it’s highlighting the lack of facilities for trucks and vehicles to park safely.

U.S. drivers are reporting more stress over parking as they spend more time searching for space. This lack of space has forced many to park in unauthorized areas.

Speeding increases

Since U.S. drivers have to be more careful about their HOS compliance, they’re apparently making up the difference by speeding more — 31% more. A choice between violating HOS or being delayed means drivers sometimes have to choose whether to make less money or break the speed limit.

Better HOS compliance

While the ELD mandate has had some unintended consequences in the United States, it has at least achieved one of its main objectives — improving HOS compliance. Since enforcement started on April 1, 2018, less than 1% of driver inspections have found a driver without an ELD. HOS violations were down from 1.31% in May 2017 to 0.64% in May 2018.

Roadside issues

For a while, there was a learning period for U.S. enforcement personnel as well as drivers. Canadian drivers may run into investigators who are not up to speed on what they should ask truckers to produce, so best prepare your drivers for that.