Commercial Motor Vehicle maintenance - Ontario

Application

Every operator must establish a system, and keep a written record of that system, to periodically inspect and maintain all commercial motor vehicles and vehicles drawn by commercial motor vehicles that are under the operator’s control.

Every operator must ensure that periodic inspections and maintenance are carried out according to their established system and that their vehicles meet the following prescribed performance standards (as applicable):

Vehicle records to be maintained by the operator

All maintenance records must be kept at the operator’s principal place of business for at least two years (or six months after the vehicle ceases to be the operator’s responsibility).

Operators are required to keep the following records for every commercial motor vehicle, trailer, and trailer converter dolly they operate:

• Identification records that include the vehicle’s unit number, year and make, vehicle identification number, and if the vehicle is not owned by the operator, the name of the person that supplies the vehicle to the operator and the first and last dates on which the operator operated the vehicle.
• A record of the inspections, maintenance, and repairs of the vehicle including:
  • The nature of the inspections, maintenance, and repairs;
  • The name of the person who conducted the inspection, maintenance, or repair;
  • The invoice or record of the inspection, maintenance, or repair, if it was conducted by someone other than the operator’s employee;
  • Invoices or receipts for any parts purchased and used in the maintenance or repair; and
  • The odometer reading of the vehicle at the end of the inspection, maintenance, or repair.
• The types and frequency of the inspections and maintenance required to be carried out on the vehicle under the operator’s system of periodic inspections and maintenance.
• A record of any axle or suspension modifications of the vehicle that would affect the manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating or gross axle weight rating;
• Copies of safety standards certificates, annual inspection certificates, and semi-annual inspection certificates issued in respect of the vehicle, and copies of equivalent documents from other jurisdictions issued in respect of the vehicle;
• Every under-vehicle inspection report (in the case of motor coaches); and
• Copies of notices and reports submitted to the operator from police inspections.

To ensure compliance of the inspection/maintenance requirements, a copy of the regulations should be obtained and used in the determination of a vehicle’s level of safety.

Enforcement

Requirements for scheduled vehicle maintenance and recordkeeping will be enforced by officers of the Ministry of Transportation during facility audits. Any violations detected during the audit process will be recorded on the operator’s CVOR file.

Law

Highway Traffic Act, Section 107

Regulation

Ontario Regulation 199/07, Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections; Regulation 587, Equipment; Regulation 611, Safety Inspections