Hours of service - Quebec

Application

Québec’s terminology for the hours of service are slightly different from that of the federal regulation. Québec defines the duty status types as follows:

• Hours of driving means the period of time during which a driver operates a heavy vehicle while the engine is running.
• Hours of rest means any period of time other than a driver’s hours of service (hours of rest spent in a sleeper berth is also a duty status but the sleeper berth area must meet the requirements in the regulation).
• Hours of service means the period of time that begins when a driver commences work including the time during which the driver is available to work and ends when the driver stops work or is relieved of responsibility by the operator. Hours of service includes time spent by the driver:
  • Inspecting, servicing, repairing, conditioning, or starting a heavy vehicle;
  • Travelling in a heavy vehicle as a co-driver, when the time is not spent in the sleeper berth;
  • Participating in the loading/unloading of a heavy vehicle;
  • Inspecting or checking the load of a heavy vehicle;
  • Waiting for a heavy vehicle to be serviced, loaded or unloaded;
  • Waiting for an assignment;
  • Waiting for a heavy vehicle or its load to be inspected;
  • Waiting at an en-route point because of an accident or other unplanned occurrence or situation; and
  • Performing any work at the request of an operator.

The requirements apply to all heavy vehicle drivers except those driving the following:

• A heavy vehicle driven for personal purposes for a whole day or for the first 75 kilometres travelled during a day if the vehicle has been unloaded, any trailers have been unhitched, the distance travelled does not exceed 75 kilometres in a day and the driver records the starting and ending odometer reading for the personal use;
• 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, or body of water, if the driver or the operator is the producer of the products; or
  • For a return trip after transporting the products of a farm, forest, or body of water, if the vehicles are empty or are transporting products used in the operation of a farm, forest, or body of water;
• Emergency vehicles and heavy vehicles used when required by an emergency service or in cases of a disaster;
• Special mobile equipment;
• Farm tractors or farm machinery;
• Buses or minibuses used for urban transport by a public transit authority;
• Combinations of road vehicles where the gross vehicle weight rating of each vehicle is less than 4,500 kilograms (except a combination carrying dangerous substances that requires the display of safety marks); and
• Combinations carrying dangerous substances that have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 4,500 kilograms and that do not require the display of safety marks (except minibuses and tow trucks).

Despite the above exceptions, hours of service performed by a driver at the request of an operator of a vehicle mentioned above (except heavy vehicles driven for personal use) must be counted when a heavy vehicle subject to the regulations is driven (as on-duty time or hours of service).

Driver cycles

Because the intent of the regulation is to limit the hours of driving and hours of service 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 service over seven days. If a driver is following Cycle 2, then he/she cannot drive after accumulating 120 hours of service over 14 days, or 70 hours of service without having taken at least 24 consecutive hours of rest. A driver can terminate a cycle that is in progress, begin a new cycle, or transfer from one cycle to another, as long as the driver takes the following number of hours of off-duty time:

• At least 36 consecutive hours of off-duty time if a driver is following Cycle 1;
• At least 72 consecutive hours of off-duty time if a driver is following Cycle 2.

If, after having taken hours of off-duty time a driver begins a new cycle, hours on duty are therefore reset and they begin to accumulate again.

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

Limitations

A driver may not drive after:

• Accumulating 13 hours of driving within a day or within a workshift;
• Fourteen hours of service 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 of rest to the start of the next period of eight or more hours of rest).

After reaching any of the above limits, a driver must take at least eight hours of rest before driving again. The eight-hour period may not be taken in a stopped heavy vehicle unless it is spent in a sleeper berth.

Drivers are required to take at least 10 hours of rest and/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 rest period. Please note, however, that the two additional hours can be added onto a required eight-hour rest period, thereby creating a consecutive 10-hour rest period.

The deferral provision allows a driver to defer up to two hours of the daily rest time to the next day. The deferral is allowed if:

• The hours of rest deferred are not part of a mandatory eight consecutive hours of rest;
• The total rest time taken over the two days is at least 20 hours;
• The rest time that was deferred is added to the eight consecutive hours of rest 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 for each day whether he/she is operating under day one or day two of the deferral.

The deferral provisions do not allow a driver to exceed the 13-hour driving rules or drive after accumulating 14 hours of service 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 hours of rest time into two periods, instead of taking one long period of rest. Single drivers who wish to split time must ensure that:

• Neither period of rest is less than two hours;
• The total of the two rest periods is at least 10 hours;
• The rest periods are spent in the sleeper berth;
• None of the rest 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 of service; 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 hours of rest must meet the same requirements as a single driver, except that the periods of rest must be at least four hours and the total of the two periods of rest must be at least eight hours. Team drivers are still required to obtain 10 hours of rest within a day.

Driving extensions

The requirements of the Québec hours of service regulations do not apply to a driver who, in an emergency, requires more hours of driving to reach a destination that provides safety for the occupants or safety and security of the heavy vehicle and its load.

A driver who encounters adverse driving conditions while operating the vehicle may extend the permitted hours of driving and service by up to two hours if the driver still takes the required eight consecutive hours of rest, the driver does not take all or part of the two daily hours of rest that have not yet been taken, and the trip could have been completed under normal driving conditions without the removal.

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

Drivers involved in snow removal may drive up to 15 hours per work shift under certain circumstances. Refer to the Québec regulations for more information.

Recordkeeping

Commercial vehicle drivers are required to keep a daily log. The log must include the following information:

• Date;
• Driver’s name and, if the driver is a member of a team of drivers, the name of the co-driver;
• Time when the day begins if different than midnight;
• Cycle followed by the driver;
• Number of the registration plate of the motor vehicle or the unit number entered on the registration certificate;
• Odometer reading of each of the motor vehicles operated by the driver;
• Name of the operator and the addresses of the home terminal and the establishment of the operator by whom the driver is employed or otherwise engaged;
• In the “Remarks” section of the daily log, if the driver was not required to keep a daily log immediately before the beginning of the day, the number of hours of rest and hours of service that were accumulated by the driver during each day without that requirement during the 14 days before the beginning of the day; and
• If applicable, in the “Remarks” section of the daily log, the reasons for any excess hours or deferral of hours of rest in accordance with the Québec regulation respecting the hours of driving and rest of heavy vehicle drivers;
• Names and the addresses of the home terminal and the establishment of any other operator by whom the driver is employed or otherwise engaged; and
• Number plate and odometer readings of any other motor vehicle used on that day.

In addition to the above information, the operator must require that the driver records and the driver must record in the daily log:

• The hours in each duty status during the day and the location of the driver each time his/her duty status changes, as that information becomes known and, in the “Remarks” section of the daily log, the reasons for any excess hours; and
• At the end of each day:
  • The total hours for each duty status and the total distance driven by the driver that day, excluding the distance driven in respect of the driver’s personal use of the vehicle;
  • Odometer reading at the end of the day; and
  • Driver’s signature on the daily log attesting to the accuracy of the information recorded in it.

While on the road, drivers must have in their possession the current daily log, completed to the last change in duty status, along with completed logs for the preceding 14 days. Drivers issued supporting documentation en route shall retain it to substantiate the information set out in the daily log.

The operator or the person who offers the services of a driver must record and keep the following information and documents:

• The daily logs and the driver time records (if exempt from the requirement from a daily log); and
• A copy of the permit issued under Chapter III (to depart from the hours of driving and rest).

The operator must also keep the supporting documents in the record.

If the driver’s services are leased by the operator, the operator must record and keep a copy of the service contract between the person offering the services of a driver and the operator, the driver’s daily logs and the driver time records (if exempt from the daily log), and the supporting documents only for that driver.

The daily logs, driver time records (if exempt from the daily log), and supporting documents must be kept in chronological order for each driver for a period of at least six months.

If applicable, the copy of the permit issued under Chapter III (to depart from the hours of driving and rest) must also be kept for a period of at least six months after the permit expires.

Automatic recorders

A driver can use an automatic recording device for recording duty status 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;
• The device is capable of displaying:
  • The hours of driving and other hours of service for each day the device is used;
  • The total hours of service remaining and the total hours of service accumulated in the driver’s cycle; and
  • The sequential changes in duty status and the time at which the change occurred;
• 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 driver is able to prepare a handwritten daily log from the information in the device, if so requested by an inspector;
• The operator provides blank daily log forms in the vehicle for the driver’s use;
• 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; and
• Any hard copy generated from the device is signed by the driver attesting to its accuracy.

Recordkeeping exemptions

A driver is exempt from the log book requirement if:

• The driver is not covered by a permit issued under Chapter III of the Québec regulation respecting the hours of driving and hours of rest of heavy vehicle drivers;
• The driver does not operate beyond a 160 kilometre radius of the home terminal;
• The driver returns to the home terminal each day to begin a minimum of eight consecutive hours of rest; and
• The operator meets either of the following conditions:
  • The operator records for each day the driver’s duty status and cycle, the hour at which each duty status starts and ends, the total number of hours spent in each status, and if applicable, the reasons for any excess hours or deferral of hours of rest; or
  • The operator records the date and time when the day begins (if not midnight), the driver’s cycle, the hour at which the driver’s work shift starts and ends, and the total number of hours of service during the day provided that the work shift begins and ends during the same day, the workshift is 13 hours or less, and the duration of the period of rest before and after the workshift is at least 11 consecutive hours.

Record distribution

A driver must, within 20 days after completing a daily log, forward the original log and supporting documents to the home terminal. The carrier must keep the daily logs and supporting documents for a period of at least six months.

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.

Law

Highway Safety Code

Regulation

Québec Regulation 367-2007, Hours of Driving and Rest of Heavy Vehicle Drivers