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Hours of service - Ontario

RegSenseState InfoFleet SafetyOntarioHours of ServiceHours of ServiceBest ResultsFocus AreaEnglishTransportation

Ontario’s hours of service regulations have been amended to include the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, effective June 12, 2022 (June 12, 2023, for bus operators operating within Ontario only). Ontario's ELD enforcement was effective for all others on January 1, 2023.

Application

The hours of service requirements apply to all drivers of commercial vehicles except those driving:

  • Two- or three-axle commercial motor vehicles, or combinations of a two-axle commercial motor vehicles and a one-axle trailer, being used to:
    • Transport the primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake, if the driver or the operator is the owner and producer or harvester of the products; or
    • Return after transporting the primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake, if the vehicles are empty or are transporting supplies and equipment used for the production of primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake;
  • Vehicles being used in the lawful performance of the driver’s duties as an inspector;
  • Cardiac arrest emergency vehicles operated by or under the authority of a hospital;
  • Vehicles engaged in providing relief in an emergency;
  • Vehicles operated by or on behalf of a municipality, road authority, or public utility while responding to a situation or impending situation presenting imminent danger to life, property, or the environment;
  • Buses that are operated by or on behalf of a municipality as part of the municipality’s public transit service, either within the municipality or within 25 kilometres of the boundary of the municipality;
  • A large crane operated by a large crane operator; or
  • A vehicle used in support of a large crane while the vehicle is operated by a large crane operator and is carrying parts for the large crane.

The last two exemptions listed above regarding large cranes have the following conditions attached:

  • The large crane must display a plate fitted by the manufacturer indicating the crane’s lifting capacity; and
  • The large crane operator surrender the operator’s certificate of qualification or proof of apprenticeship, as the case may be, or a copy of it, on the demand of an inspector.

The regulations also do not apply to a driver, or the operator of such driver, while driving a pick-up truck (gross vehicle weight rating 6,500 kilograms or less) that is being used for personal purposes without compensation and is not carrying, or towing a trailer that is carrying, commercial cargo or tools or equipment of a type normally used for commercial purposes.

Drivers and operators are exempt from the hours of service regulation while the drivers are fulfilling their duties as volunteer firefighters. Regardless of the hours spent as a volunteer firefighter, the exemption cannot exceed two consecutive hours per day or two consecutive hours in the mandatory eight consecutive hours of off-duty time. The hours must be included as off-duty time in the driver’s calculations of off-duty hours and on-duty hours when the driver is not exempt from the hours of service.

Effective July 1, 2017, an exemption certificate valid for up to five years will be available for operators of former road-building machines. The vehicles must be manufactured before January 1, 2017, must have functioned as road building machines prior to November 29, 2016, and must have not had a commercial vehicle permit at any time in 2014 in the name of the operator applying for the certificate (or a person related to the operator). See mto.gov.on.ca/english/trucks/road-building-machines.shtml for more details on the hours of service exemption certificate.

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 the driver cannot drive after accumulating 70 hours of on-duty time over seven days. If a driver is following cycle 2, then the driver 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 the driver can reset the cycles by taking 36 hours or 72 hours of off-duty time, respectively. Drivers may also switch from the 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 the 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 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. 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. A driver may split the off-duty time over any two consecutive days by deferring a maximum of two hours of the daily off-duty time from the first day to the second day and increasing the total of the driving and on-duty times in the first day by not more than two hours if:

  • The deferred off-duty time does not form part of the mandatory period of eight consecutive hours of off-duty time;
  • Before the end of the second day, the driver takes a consecutive period of off-duty time consisting of the eight consecutive hours plus the off-duty time deferred from the first day;
  • The total off-duty time taken in the two days is at least 20 hours;
  • The total driving time in the two days does not exceed 26 hours;
  • The total on-duty time in the two days does not exceed 28 hours;
  • The driver is not splitting off-duty time at any time during the two days; and
  • An entry is made in the “Remarks” section of the record of duty status clearly indicating the day from which the off-duty time has been deferred and the day to which it was deferred.

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;
    • That 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 4 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

A driver who encounters adverse driving conditions may increase the 13 hours of driving time by up to two hours and the on-duty time up to two hours and reduce the off-duty time by a corresponding amount, as long as the driver does not exceed the 16-hour elapsed time limit. If, as a result of extending the driving and on-duty times, the on-duty time for the cycle is exceeded, the driver must meet the cycle requirements by the end of the following day. The driver is required to mark the extension of driving and on-duty time in the “Remarks” area of the record of duty status.

Recordkeeping

Every person that records time in a record of duty status or in the operator’s record of driver hours (for drivers exempt from a record of duty status) is required to use the local time at the driver’s home terminal.

Every driver of a commercial motor vehicle is required to keep a record of duty status unless exempt. An operator must require every driver of a commercial motor vehicle to keep a record of duty status unless exempt.

Records of duty status may be made by an electronic logging device (ELD) or by using another method if not subject to the ELD requirement.

Electronic logging devices

Operators must ensure that each commercial motor vehicle that it operates is equipped with an ELD that:

  • Meets the requirements of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrator's (CCMTA's) Technical Standard;
  • Is mounted in a fixed position during the operation of the commercial motor vehicle;
  • Is visible to the driver when the driver is in the normal driving position; and
  • Is used only with an engine of a type for which the ELD was certified.

A driver shall not drive a commercial motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ELD. Except that the following do not require the use of an ELD:

  • Drivers operating within 160 kilometres of the home terminal and meeting all conditions;
  • Buses*;
  • School buses;
  • Vehicles operated by an operator under a certificate issued under section 191 of the Act;
  • Vehicles that are the subject of a rental agreement of no longer than 30 days that is not an extended or renewed rental of the same vehicle;
  • Vehicles manufactured before model year 2000; or
  • Vehicles being driven for the purpose of sale or lease by a person in the business of selling, leasing, or transporting vehicles, so long as the vehicle is unladen and is not drawing any other vehicle, other than an unladen motor vehicle with one or more sets of wheels on the surface of the roadway.

*Bus operators solely operating within Ontario will be subject to ELDs starting June 12, 2023.

Drivers must record for each day all of the information required by the hours of service regulations and the Technical Standard as their duty status changes and manually input or verify the information in the ELD of any commercial motor vehicle driven.

A driver may not use more than one ELD at the same time for the same period.

If an operator authorizes a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle for yard moves within a terminal, depot, or port that is not on a highway, the operator must ensure that the driver’s ELD has been configured so that the driver can indicate those moves.

The operator must ensure each commercial motor vehicle that it operates that is required to be equipped with an ELD carries an ELD information packet containing a current version of the following documents:

  1. A user’s manual;
  2. An instruction sheet for the driver describing the data transfer mechanisms supported by the ELD and the steps required to generate and transfer the data with respect to the driver’s hours of service to an inspector;
  3. An instruction sheet describing the measures the driver shall take if the ELD malfunctions; and
  4. A sufficient number of records of duty status forms to allow the driver to record hours for at least 15 days.

ELD malfunctions

If a driver of a commercial motor vehicle becomes aware that the ELD is displaying a malfunction code the driver must notify the operator that is operating the commercial motor vehicle as soon as the vehicle is parked.

The driver must record in the record of duty status on the day on which they became aware of the malfunction code:

  • Malfunction code from the Technical Standard;
  • Date and time when the malfunction code was noticed; and
  • Time when notification of the malfunction code was transmitted to the operator.

The driver must record the malfunction code in each record of duty status following the day on which the code was noticed, until the ELD is repaired or replaced.

An operator must, within 14 days after the day on which it is notified of an ELD malfunction code by the driver or otherwise becomes aware of the malfunction code repair or replace the ELD (the time period is 14 days, or at the latest, upon return of the driver to the home terminal from a planned trip if that return exceeds the 14-day period).

Operators are required to maintain a register of malfunctions in ELDs installed or used in commercial motor vehicles that it operates that contains the following information:

  1. The name of the driver who noticed the malfunction code.
  2. The name of each driver that used the commercial motor vehicle following the discovery of the malfunction code and before the ELD was repaired or replaced.
  3. The make, model and serial number of the ELD.
  4. The licence plate or Vehicle Identification Number of the commercial motor vehicle in which the ELD is installed or used.
  5. The date when the malfunction code was noticed and the location of the commercial motor vehicle on that date.
  6. The date when the operator was notified or otherwise became aware of the malfunction code.
  7. The date when the ELD was repaired or replaced. 8. A concise description of the actions taken by the operator to repair or replace the ELD.

The ELD malfunction register must be kept for six months after the day on which the ELD is replaced or repaired.

Records of duty status

Drivers who are not required to use an ELD are required to maintain a record of duty status to document their duty status for each 24 hour period. These records must be current to the last change of duty status. Records of duty status must include the following information:

  • Date;
  • Driver’s name and signature;
  • Starting time for the 24-hour period, if other than midnight;
  • Name and principal place of business address of each operator;
  • Home terminal name and address;
  • The cycle the driver is following;
  • Co-driver’s name, if applicable;
  • Number plate of each commercial motor vehicle and trailer;
  • Beginning and ending odometer readings for each vehicle driven;
  • Total distance driven by the driver, minus any personal use;
  • A graph grid with remarks section;
  • The time spent in each duty status during the day and total time spent in each duty status (entered at the right hand side of the grid; must total 24 hours);
  • City, town, village, or highway 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 record of duty status 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 a driver works for more than one operator in a day, the driver must:

  • Enter in the record of duty status the name of each operator and the address of the principal place of business of each operator;
  • Designate in the record of duty status one operator as the principal operator;
  • Forward the original record of duty status to a place of business of the principal operator and a copy to a place of business of each of the other operators; and
  • Forward the supporting documents to the place of business of the operator to whom it relates.

When a driver works for more than one operator in a day, the driver’s cycle and the time at which the driver’s day starts is determined by the principal operator. Drivers working for more than one operator in a day may not take advantage of the 160-kilometre recordkeeping exemption.

While on the road, drivers are required to have in their possession the current record of duty status, as well as completed record of duty status for the previous 14 consecutive days. Drivers should also have fuel, accommodation, bridge, and road toll receipts as well as any other supporting documents to verify the information contained in their records of duty status.

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 location at which the driver starts the day; and
  • Returns at the end of the day to the same location from which the driver started.

Although a driver is exempt from the daily log requirement, the operator must keep a record for the day showing:

  • The date, the driver’s name, and the location at which the driver starts and ends the day;
  • The driver’s cycle;
  • The hour at which each duty status starts and ends and the total number of hours spent in each duty status; and
  • The number of hours of on-duty time and off-duty time that the driver accumulated each day during the previous 14 days for which the driver was exempt from the hours of service regulation and not required to keep a daily log.

Record distribution

The driver’s record of duty status and all supporting documents (such as fuel receipts, bridge and toll road receipts, shipping documents and accommodation receipts), and any record of hours for drivers exempt from an ELD, must be submitted to each operator for whom the driver works, within 20 days.

The operator must keep the records for a period of six months from the date of receipt. Operators may keep a record or document that is in electronic format at any place if the record or document can be readily accessed by the operator from the operator’s principal place of business, a readable and understandable display of the information in the record or document can be produced at the operator’s principal place of business, the operator would, from the operator’s principal place of business, be able to comply with a requirement that the record or document be stored or transmitted in a particular way in accordance with subsection 225 of the Highway Traffic Act.

Compliance monitoring

Operators must monitor each driver’s hours of service compliance. Operators may use electronic log auditing tools or services to check and verify hours of service; however, operators are also encouraged to monitor drivers actual on-the-road hours and compare hours of service reported on the daily log to supporting documents.

If it is determined that a driver has failed to comply with the hours of service regulations, the operator must record the details of the non-compliance and the remedial action taken.

Enforcement

Enforcement of the hours of work requirements will take place both on-highway and through facility audits or inspections by Ministry of Transportation personnel. Offences, such as failing to maintain a log or exceeding the maximum number of on duty or driving hours, will be recorded on the operator’s CVOR file.

Law

Highway Traffic Act, Section 190

Regulation

Hours of Service, 555/06

['Hours of Service']
['Hours of Service']
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