['Hours of Service']
['Hours of Service']
11/29/2024
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British Columbia's hours of service regulations apply to drivers of trucks and truck tractors licensed in excess of 5,000 kilograms gross vehicle weight, and attached trailers; buses, taxis and other motor vehicles licensed pursuant to the Motor Carrier Act.
British Columbia exempted trucks or truck-tractors with a gross vehicle weight of 11,794 kilograms or less from compliance with the hours of service regulation. The regulations still apply to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 11,794 kilograms, school buses, vehicles under the Passenger Transportation Act, and commercial vehicles with a seating capacity of 10 or more passengers including the driver.
British Columbia implemented enforcement of the ELD mandate effective January 1, 2023.
Effective August 1, 2023, Division 37 of the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations (MVAR) will be repealed and replaced with an updated and restructured Division that implements a provincial ELD mandate that effectively mirrors the federal ELD mandate
British Columbia’s enforcement policy on the use of electronic logs (not including electronic on-board recorders) can be found by visiting http://tinyurl.com/BCelogs. British Columbia has issued an enforcement policy regarding carriers transitioning from paper logs to electronic recording devices. While a carrier is testing a new electronic recording or logging system or training drivers on the system, the enforcement policy provides that carriers may allow their drivers to use both a paper log and an electronic log for a short period of time in order to ensure that they have accurate and complete time records during the transition period. See the complete enforcement policy at tinyurl.com/BClogtrans.
Application
The Hours of Service Regulations do not apply to a driver that is driving:
- Two- or three-axle commercial motor vehicles used to transport primary farm, forest, sea or lake products (provided the driver or his/her employer is the producer of such product(s));
- Two- or three-axle commercial motor vehicles being used for a return trip 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;
- Emergency vehicles;
- Commercial motor vehicles transporting passengers or goods for disaster relief;
- A road building machine, farm tractor, or an implement of husbandry;
- A commercial motor vehicle equipped with a mobile service rig or equipment that is directly used in the operation or transportation of a mobile service rig;
- 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; or
- Vehicles and other equipment while engaged in highway or public utility construction or maintenance work, under or over the surface of a highway while at the work site (the regulations apply to the driver when traveling to and from the site).
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 any period of 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 hours of off-duty time before driving again.
Drivers are required to take at least 10 hours off-duty 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 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 that was 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 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 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 of off-duty time 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:
- 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 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.
A driver using a commercial motor vehicle to transport logs or poles:
- Shall not drive after 13 hours of driving time or 15 hours of on-duty time without having at least nine consecutive hours off duty; and
- Is not subject to the 70-hour/120-hour limits if:
- Fifteen hours have not elapsed since the end of the most recent period of nine or more consecutive hours of off-duty time and the driver takes at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time at least once every seven days; and
- the driver can record the off-duty time in the daily log as off-duty time and as “operating under logging truck hours” in the “Remarks” section of the daily log.
A driver may not drive after having completed a cycle of 65 hours of driving time or 80 hours of on-duty time during any period of seven consecutive days. Drivers using the logging truck hours must not reset the cycle or use the deferring provisions.
Recordkeeping
Commercial drivers are required to keep a daily log. The log must include the following information:
- Date;
- Printed driver’s name;
- Cycle that the driver is following;
- Starting and ending odometer readings;
- Total distance driven by the driver during the day excluding personal use;
- Commercial motor vehicle unit number or licence plate number;
- Carrier’s name (must name each carrier driver worked with during the day);
- Driver’s signature to certify for accuracy upon completion of log;
- Printed co-driver’s name;
- Twenty-four hour period starting time (if other than midnight);
- Each carrier’s principal place of business address and home terminal address that the driver worked with during the day;
- Total hours in each duty status;
- 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 declaration that the driver is deferring time and an indication of whether the driver is driving under day one or day two of that time.
Drivers must complete the graph grid on the log and must also record the time and place of each change of duty status.
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 enroute shall retain it to substantiate the information set out in the daily log.
If transitioning from paper logs to electronic recording devices, view British Columbia’s enforcement policy at tinyurl.com/BClogtrans.
Automatic recorders
A driver can make a daily log by using 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
A driver is exempt from the log book requirement if:
- He/she does not operate beyond a 160 kilometre radius of the home terminal;
- He/she returns to the home terminal each day to begin a minimum of eight consecutive hours of off-duty time; and
- The carrier maintains, for a period of six months, an accurate record of the driver’s duty status and elected cycle, the hour at which each duty status begins and ends, and the total number of hours spent in each duty status.
British Columbia Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) has issued a bulletin clarifying the recordkeeping requirements for drivers operating within 160 kilometres of the home terminal. CVSE has stated that a driver may use the log grid provided in Schedule 2 of British Columbia’s Hours of Service Regulations, but it is not required. If a driver will not be using Schedule 2 as a recordkeeping method, then the record he/she uses must comply with the requirements listed above.
Drivers operating under the 160 kilometre exemption may also group together short periods of driving time and on-duty time, provided the driver’s hours total 24 hours and he/she records it on the right side of the grid.
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 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 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 who use the above extensions must indicate the reason in the “Remarks” area of the daily log.
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
Motor Vehicle Act, Section 210.3(h)
Regulation
Motor Vehicle Act Regulations, Division 37, Part 3; 36/2007
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Copyright 2024 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.