After two and a half years of delays, on February 1st, the Government of Québec finally published the Regulation on Driving and Rest Hours for Heavy Vehicle Drivers, introducing the requirement for certain operators to equip heavy vehicles with an Electronic Logging Device (ELD).
While the new regulation largely mirrors its predecessor, aside from the ELD requirement, it also introduces several important changes. This article reviews the exceptions to the ELD requirement, new key definitions, and specific rules.
Exceptions
In principle, the requirement to equip a heavy vehicle with an ELD applies to all operators, except those who qualify under one of the following exemptions:
- Local travel within a 160 km radius with daily return to home terminal for at least eight consecutive hours of rest;
- Vehicles with a model year prior to 2000;
- Rental contracts of no more than 30 days, not extended or renewed for the same vehicle;
- Unloaded vehicles being delivered:
- to the owner’s home terminal following a transfer of ownership (within 5 days of the transfer);
- to a lessee;
- to a lessor during or at the end of a rental contract;
- to a branch of a rental company for inventory adjustment;
- Unloaded vehicles in transit or delivery during or at the end of the manufacturing process.
Definitions
The term “activity report” replaces “daily log.” Reports may be in paper or electronic format.
A “malfunction” is defined as any event that triggers the automatic recording of a malfunction code in an ELD as specified by the “Technical Standard.” When such a malfunction occurs, the driver must notify the operator as soon as parked and complete a paper activity report. The operator must repair or replace the ELD within 14 days or by the driver’s return to the home terminal and must maintain a log of malfunction codes for the past six months.
Finally, the last significant amendment concerns “working hours,” as the legislator clarified that waiting time before various tasks will now be included in the definition. This includes, but is not limited to, waiting before and during the loading or unloading of a heavy vehicle. Additionally, two new activities have been added to this definition: maneuvers of a heavy vehicle performed off a public road in a station, depot, or port, and resting aboard a heavy vehicle or occupying it for another purpose—unless such rest qualifies as “rest hours.”
Specific Obligations
In addition to the obligations described above, there are certain other requirements that must be respected.
The operator must provide the driver with a kit containing a user manual, an instruction sheet for the ELD system, an instruction sheet for handling malfunctions, and at least 15 paper-format activity reports. Although the Regulation does not specify the format of the kit, it is considered good practice to keep these documents in paper form in the vehicle to avoid violations in case of technical issues.
The legislator has also expanded the list of information that the operator must retain for a period of six months as “supporting documents,” now including, among other things, electronic records of communications between a driver and an operator, payroll records, documents related to the loading of the heavy vehicle, the route, the schedule, and documents concerning maintenance, repairs, servicing, refueling, inspection, or rental of the heavy vehicle, etc.
During an inspection by a peace officer, a driver must be able to produce, via screen display, printout, or email, their activity reports for the past 14 days along with supporting documents for the current trip.
Finally, beyond the regulations, certain best practices remain relevant in terms of training, auditing hours, and managing unassigned hours.
Yes, Québec’s rules regarding ELDs have officially come into force. While this may simplify the tracking of driving and working hours, questions will undoubtedly remain.
Please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our team if needed.
This publication was featured in Transport Magazine.
