Hours of service - Nova Scotia

Application

The hours of work requirements do not apply to drivers driving:

• A 2-axle or 3-axle commercial vehicle while it is being used for any of the following when the driver or the carrier is the producer or user of the products:
  • A trip to pick up feed grain, fertilizer, or the primary products of a farm, forest, sea, or lake;
  • A trip to transport feed grain, fertilizer, or the primary products of a farm, forest, sea, or lake, or
  • A return trip after transporting, if the vehicle is empty or is transporting a supply item used in the production of a primary product of a farm, forest, sea, or lake;
• Emergency vehicles;
• Vehicles engaged in providing relief during an emergency;
• Public transit service buses that are provided in a municipality, two or more bordering municipalities, or within 25 kilometers of the boundary of a municipality or two or more bordering municipalities that the transit service serves;
• Commercial vehicles driven for personal use if the vehicle does not have a load, trailers have been unhitched, the vehicle does not travel farther than 75 kilometres in a day, the driver records the starting and ending odometer readings of the personal use, and the driver is not subject to an out-of-service declaration; or
• Recreational vehicles.

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;
• Accumulating 14 hours of on-duty time within a day; or
• Sixteen hours have elapsed from the end of the most recent period of eight consecutive hours of off-duty time to the start of the next period of eight or more hours off duty.

Drivers may not drive after accumulating 13 hours of driving, or 14 hours of on-duty time, in the 16 hour window as described above.

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

Drivers are required to take at least 10 hours off-duty or sleeper-berth time within a day and the 10 hours must include:

• Eight consecutive hours of off-duty time; and
• At least two hours of off-duty time that is not part of the eight consecutive hours of off-duty time.

Off-duty time other than the eight consecutive hours of off-duty time may be distributed throughout the day in blocks of no less than 30 minutes each.

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
• There is a declaration in the “Remarks” area of the log clearly indicating that the driver is deferring 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 rule or drive after accumulating 14 on-duty hours in a workshift, as the workshift limits are still in effect.

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:

• Each period of off-duty time is at least two hours;
• The total of the two periods of off-duty time is at least 10 hours;
• Both periods of off-duty time are taken 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;
  • There is no driving after the 14th hour on duty; and
  • The elapsed time does not include any driving after the 16th 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.

Driving extensions

Drivers encountering an emergency that requires more driving time to reach a safe destination may drive longer than the maximum driving times and on-duty times and take less off-duty time to reach the safe destination. Nova Scotia considers an emergency to be an unexpected event or situation that presents a danger to the occupants of the commercial vehicle, the security of the commercial vehicle and its load, and other road users.

A driver who encounters adverse driving conditions while operating the vehicle south of the 60th 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 times in the cycle are 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 who use the above extension must indicate the reason in the “Remarks” area of the daily log.

Recordkeeping

Drivers are required to maintain one daily log per day to document their duty status for each 24-hour period. Drivers must use the local time at the driver’s home terminal.

Daily logs must include the following information:

• Date;
• Driver’s name and signature;
• Beginning and ending odometer readings;
• 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 right hand side of the grid; must total 24 hours), as the information becomes known;
• Name of the municipality, location on a highway or in a community, and the name of the province/state where each duty status change occurred;
• 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.

If driving time is interrupted by a number of periods of other on-duty time of less than one hour each, the periods of driving time may be combined and the periods of other on-duty time may be combined.

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 use an electronic 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 is not operating under a special permit;
• 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 meet one of the following conditions:

• For at least six months, the carrier maintains records showing the driver’s duty status and cycle, the hour at which each duty status begins and ends, and the total hours spent in each status;
• For at least six months, the carrier maintains records showing the hour that each on-duty segment starts and ends, and the total on-duty time, and the following conditions are met:
  • The elapsed time does not exceed 16 hours;
  • The total on-duty time does not exceed 14 hours; and
  • The driver maintains records for each day showing the hour at which each on-duty segment starts and ends and the total on-duty time, and also keeps the previous seven days’ worth of records in the vehicle.

Record distribution

Every driver must forward, as soon as is reasonably practicable, copies of his/her daily log to each of the carriers for whom he/she worked that day. Within 20 days, the driver must forward the original of each log for that week to his/her home terminal, where they are to be kept by the carrier (along with supporting documents) at the principal place of business for a period of not less than six months. Records must be kept in chronological order for each driver.

Drivers employed by more than one carrier in a day must forward to the home terminal no later than 20 days after the driver completes the daily log:

• The original daily log and applicable supporting documents to the home terminal of the first carrier; and
• A copy of the daily log and applicable supporting documents to the other carrier(s) he/she worked for that day.

Carrier monitoring

Carriers must monitor drivers’ compliance with the hours of service regulations. If a driver is not compliant, the carrier must take remedial action and issue a notice of non-compliance to the driver. The carrier must record the date the non-compliance occurred, the date the notice of non-compliance was issued, and the remedial action that was taken.

Special permits

Nova Scotia will issue special permits for the following:

• Pilot projects;
• Commercial vehicles other than oil well service vehicles; and
• Oil well service vehicles.

A special permit may be issued for commercial vehicles other than oil well service vehicles under the following conditions:

• Off-duty time needs to be reduced or driving time and on-duty time needs to be increased to allow a driver following a regular itinerary to reach his/her home terminal or destination, to allow delivery of perishable goods, or to accommodate a significant temporary increase in the transportation of passengers or goods by the carrier; and
• The safety and health of the public, the driver, and employees are not jeopardized or are unlikely to be jeopardized.

Carriers requesting special permits must provide information to the director, including but not limited to:

• The names and driver’s license numbers of the drivers who will operate under the special permit;
• A list of commercial vehicles that will operate under the special permit;
• A list of all accidents involving the carrier or its drivers over the past six months;
• The reasons why the special permit is needed and documentation to support those reasons;
• Detailed descriptions of the load and/or routes to which the permit will apply; and
• Any other information the director requires.

Carriers will also be required to provide the previous six months’ worth of daily logs and supporting documents for each driver that will operate under the permit.

Carriers that have obtained special permits must place a copy in each vehicle operating under the permit. Carriers operating under special permits must also notify the director if there is a change in the vehicles operating under the special permit or if any of the vehicles are involved in an accident.

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. During business hours, an inspector may enter a carrier’s home terminal or principal place of business, other than living quarters, to inspect daily logs and supporting documents. At any time, an inspector may stop and enter a commercial vehicle, except for the sleeper berth, to inspect daily logs and supporting documents. In addition, an inspector may stop and enter a commercial vehicle and enter its sleeper to verify that the sleeper meets the sleeper berth criteria in the Nova Scotia hours of service regulations.

Law

Motor Vehicle Act

Regulation

Commercial Vehicle Drivers’ Hours of Service Regulations, N.S. Reg. 332/2009