Hours of service - Newfoundland and Labrador

Application

In an effort to reduce the potential for driver fatigue, Newfoundland/Labrador passed hours of service regulations to limit the time that a driver can spend driving or on duty. The requirements apply to all carriers and commercial vehicle drivers, except those operating:

• Two- or three-axle commercial motor vehicles being used to:
  • Transport the primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake, if the driver or the operator is the producer of the products; or
  • Return after transporting the primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake, if the vehicle is empty or is transporting products used in the principal operation of a farm, forest, sea or lake;
• An emergency vehicle;
• Vehicles engaged in providing relief in an emergency;
• Buses that are part of a municipality’s public transit service, either within the municipality or within 25 kilometres of the boundary of the municipality; or
• A commercial motor vehicle driven for personal use if the vehicle is unloaded, trailers have been unhitched, the driver does not travel more than 75 kilometres in a day, the driver notes the starting and ending odometer readings in the daily log, and the driver is not subject to an out of service declaration.

Driver cycles

Because the intent of the regulation is to limit the driving and on-duty time in a day, and to ensure drivers obtain enough rest, the regulations establish two cycles that drivers must follow. If a driver is following Cycle 1, then he/she cannot drive after accumulating 70 hours of on-duty time over seven days. If a driver is following Cycle 2, then he/she cannot drive after accumulating 120 hours of on-duty time over 14 days, or 70 hours of on-duty time without having taken at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time. If a driver reaches the 70-hour or 120-hour limits, then he/she can reset the cycles by taking 36 hours or 72 hours of off-duty time, respectively. Drivers may also switch from Cycle 1 to Cycle 2 by taking 36 hours of off-duty time, or switch from Cycle 2 to Cycle 1 by taking 72 hours of off-duty time.

All drivers, regardless of cycle, must have taken at least 24 consecutive hours off-duty time in the preceding 14 days.

Limitations

A driver may not drive after:

• Accumulating 13 hours of driving within a day or within a workshift;
• Accumulating 14 hours of on-duty time within a day or within a workshift; or
• Sixteen hours have elapsed from the start of his/her workshift (the 16-hour period, also called the workshift, is determined by the conclusion of the most recent period of eight or more hours off duty to the start of the next period of eight or more hours off duty).

After reaching any of the above limits, a driver must take at least eight consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.

Drivers are required to take at least 10 hours of off-duty or sleeper-berth time within a day. Two hours of the total 10 hours can be taken throughout the day in blocks of no less than 30 minutes. The two hours cannot be counted as part of a required eight-hour break. Please note, however, that the two additional hours can be added onto a required eight-hour break, thereby creating a consecutive 10-hour break.

The deferral provision allows a driver to defer up to two hours of the daily off-duty time to the next day. The deferral is allowed only if all of the following conditions are met:

• The off-duty time deferred is not part of a mandatory eight consecutive hours of off-duty time;
• The total off-duty time taken over the two days is at least 20 hours;
• The off-duty time deferred is added to the eight consecutive hours of off-duty time taken in the second day;
• The total driving time over the two days does not exceed 26 hours; and
• The driver makes a notation in the “Remarks” area of the log stating that the driver is deferring off-duty time and whether the driver is driving under day one or day two of that time.

The deferral provisions do not allow a driver to exceed the 13-hour driving rules or drive after accumulating 14 on-duty hours in a workshift, as the workshift limits are still in effect. For a driver to use the deferral option, he/she must complete eight consecutive hours off duty within the first day. If any part of the eight hours falls on the next day, then the driver is in violation of trying to defer time that is part of a mandatory eight consecutive hours off duty.

Single drivers and team drivers driving commercial vehicles equipped with sleeper berths are allowed to split the daily off-duty time into two periods, instead of taking one long period of off-duty time. Single drivers who wish to split time must ensure that:

• Neither period of off-duty time is shorter than two hours;
• The total of the two periods of off-duty time is at least 10 hours;
• The off-duty time is spent in the sleeper berth;
• None of the off-duty time is deferred to the next day; and
• In the time before and after each period:
  • The driving time does not exceed 13 hours;
  • That there is no driving after the 14^th hour on duty; and
  • The elapsed time does not include any driving after the 16^th hour.

The rules are slightly different for drivers in a team situation. Team drivers who split their daily off-duty time must meet the same requirements as a single driver, except that the periods of off-duty time must be at least four hours and the total of the two periods of off-duty time must be at least eight hours. Team drivers are still required to obtain 10 hours of off-duty time within a day.

Drivers north of the 60^th parallel

On-duty limits are extended to 15 hours of driving or 18 hours of on-duty time (following eight consecutive hours off duty) when a driver is operating north of the 60^th parallel.

A driver has 20 hours of elapsed time from the start of the workshift to complete his/her driving. Drivers north of the 60^th parallel can either follow Cycle 1, 80 hours in seven days, or Cycle 2, 120 hours in 14 days.

Driving extensions

The hours of service regulations regarding driving time, on-duty time, and off-duty time do not apply to a driver who, in an emergency, requires more driving time to reach a destination that provides safety for the occupants of the commercial vehicle and for other users of the road or the security of the commercial vehicle and its load.

A driver who encounters adverse driving conditions while operating the vehicle south of the 60^th parallel may extend the permitted 13-hour driving time and reduce the two hours of daily off-duty time by the amount of time needed to complete the trip if the driving, on-duty, and elapsed time is not extended more than two hours, the driver still takes the required eight consecutive hours of off-duty time, and the trip could have been completed under normal driving conditions without the reduction. Drivers north of the 60^th parallel may extend the driving time if the extension is no more than two hours, the driver still takes the eight consecutive hours of off-duty time, and the trip could’ve been completed under normal driving conditions without the extension.

Drivers who use the above extensions must indicate the reason in the “Remarks” area of the daily log.

Recordkeeping

Drivers are required to maintain daily logs to document their duty status for each 24 hour period. Daily logs must include the following information:

• Date;
• Driver’s name and signature;
• Beginning and ending odometer reading;
• Total distance driven, minus any personal use;
• Vehicle licence plates or unit numbers;
• Principal place of business address of each carrier;
• Home terminal name and address;
• The cycle the driver is following;
• Co-driver’s name, if applicable;
• Starting time for the 24-hour period (if other than midnight);
• A graph grid with “Remarks” section;
• Total time spent in each duty status (entered at the right hand side of the grid; must total 24 hours);
• Location where each duty status change occurred;
• If the driver uses the vehicle for personal use, the starting/ending odometer reading for any personal use (up to 75 kilometres travel distance per day);
• In the “Remarks” section, if the driver was not required to keep a daily log immediately before the beginning of the day, the number of hours of on-duty and off-duty time that were accumulated by the driver each day during the 14 days immediately before the beginning of the day; and
• In the “Remarks” section, if a driver is deferring time, a notation clearly indicating the day from which the off-duty time has been deferred and the day to which it was deferred.

While on the road, the driver is required to have in his/her possession the current log (completed to the time shown for the last change of duty status), as well as copies of his/her logs for the previous 14 consecutive days. The driver must also have available for inspection purposes supporting documents to verify the information contained in his/her log.

Automatic recorders

A driver can make a daily log by using an automatic recording device installed in the vehicle if:

• The information contained in the device is the same as the information that would’ve been provided if the driver had a paper daily log;
• When requested by an inspector, the driver can immediately provide the information for the previous 14 days by showing it on the digital display screen, in handwritten form, on a print-out, or any other legible method or combination of methods;
• The device is capable of displaying:
  • The driving time and other on-duty time for each day the device is used;
  • The total on-duty time remaining and the total on-duty time accumulated in the driver’s cycle; and
  • The sequential changes in duty status and the time at which the change occurred;
• The driver is able to prepare a handwritten daily log from the information in the device, if so requested by an inspector;
• The device automatically records when it is disconnected and reconnected and keeps a record of the time and date of these occurrences;
• The device records the time spent in each duty status;
• Any hard copy generated from the device is signed by the driver attesting to its accuracy; and
• The motor carrier provides blank daily log forms in the vehicle for the driver’s use.

Recordkeeping exemptions

Although the hours of service limits still apply, a driver is exempt from keeping/maintaining a daily log if:

• The driver operates the commercial motor vehicle within a radius of 160 kilometres of the home terminal; and
• Returns at the end of the day to the home terminal to begin a minimum of eight consecutive hours of off-duty time.

Although a driver is exempt from the daily log requirement, the motor carrier must maintain accurate and legible records showing for each day:

• The driver’s duty status and elected cycle; and
• The hour at which each duty status starts and ends and the total number of hours spent in each duty status.

If these conditions are no longer met, the driver becomes subject to the logging requirements and must enter into his/her log the total hours of on-duty time and off-duty time for each of the 14 consecutive days preceding the day on which he/she no longer was exempt.

Record distribution

The driver’s log and all supporting documents (such as fuel receipts, bridge and toll receipts, shipping documents and accommodation receipts) must be submitted to each operator for whom he/she works, within 20 days.

Within 30 days, the operator must forward the logs and the supporting documents to the head office, where they are to be kept in chronological order for each driver for a period of six months from the date of receipt.

Ferry crossing

A driver traveling by ferry crossing that takes more than five hours is not required to take the mandatory eight consecutive hours of off-duty time if:

• The time spent resting in the sleeper berth while waiting to board the ferry, in rest accommodations on the ferry, and at a rest stop that is no more than 25 kilometres from the point of disembarkation from the ferry combine to a total minimum eight hours;
• The hours are recorded on the log as off-duty time in a sleeper berth;
• The driver retains the receipt for the crossing and rest accommodation fees; and
• The supporting document coincides with the daily log entries.

Enforcement

A driver who exceeds the maximum hours of service may be declared out of service until such time as the requirements of the regulation are met. Penalties may also be assessed for hours of service regulations violations.

Law

The Highway Traffic Act, Section 197

Regulation

Highway Traffic Hours of Service Regulations, 94/06