Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations (SOR/2005-313)

Directors

• 3 (1) The minister responsible for highway safety in a province may designate a person to exercise in the province the duties and functions of a director for the purposes of these Regulations.

• (2) A director may designate inspectors for the purposes of these Regulations.

Responsibilities of Motor Carriers, Shippers, Consignees and Drivers

4 No motor carrier, shipper, consignee or other person shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive if

• (a) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 4]

• (b) driving would be likely to jeopardize the safety or health of the public, the driver or the employees of the motor carrier;

• (c) the driver is the subject of an out-of-service declaration; or

• (d) the driver, in doing so, would not be in compliance with these Regulations.

[5 to 9 reserved]

Travelling as a Passenger — Off-duty Time

10 If a driver who has, at the request of the motor carrier by whom the driver is employed or otherwise engaged, spent time travelling as a passenger, by any mode of transportation, to the destination at which the driver will begin driving takes 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before beginning to drive, the time spent as a passenger shall be counted as off-duty time.

Scheduling — Driving South of Latitude 60°N

Application

11 Sections 12 to 29 apply in respect of driving south of latitude 60°N.

Daily Driving and On-duty Time

• 12 (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 13 hours of driving time in a day.

• (2) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 14 hours of on-duty time in a day.

Mandatory Off-duty Time

• 13 (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 13 hours of driving time unless the driver takes at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.

• (2) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 14 hours of on-duty time unless the driver takes at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.

• (3) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after 16 hours of time have elapsed between the conclusion of the most recent period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time and the beginning of the next period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time.

Daily Off-duty Time

• 14 (1) A motor carrier shall ensure that a driver takes and the driver shall take at least 10 hours of off-duty time in a day.

• (2) Off-duty time other than the mandatory 8 consecutive hours may be distributed throughout the day in blocks of no less than 30 minutes each.

• (3) The total amount of off-duty time taken by a driver in a day shall include at least 2 hours of off-duty time that does not form part of a period of 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time required by section 13.

[15 reserved]

Deferral of Daily Off-duty Time

16 Despite sections 12 and 14, a driver who is not splitting off-duty time in accordance with section 18 or 19 may defer a maximum of 2 hours of the daily off-duty time to the following day if

• (a) the off-duty time deferred is not part of the mandatory 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time;

• (b) the total off-duty time taken in the 2 days is at least 20 hours;

• (c) the off-duty time deferred is added to the 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time taken in the second day;

• (d) the total driving time in the 2 days does not exceed 26 hours; and

• (e) there is a declaration in the record of duty status that states that the driver is deferring off-duty time under this section and that clearly indicates whether the driver is driving under day one or day two of that time.

Ferries

17 Despite sections 13 and 14, a driver travelling by a ferry crossing that takes more than 5 hours is not required to take the mandatory 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time if

• (a) the time spent resting in a sleeper berth while waiting at the terminal to board the ferry, in rest accommodations on the ferry and at a rest stop that is no more than 25 km from the point of disembarkation from the ferry combine to total a minimum of 8 hours;

• (b) the hours are recorded in the record of duty status as off-duty time spent in a sleeper berth;

• (c) the driver retains, as a supporting document, the receipt for the crossing and rest accommodation fees; and

• (d) the supporting document coincides with the record of duty status entries.

Splitting of Daily Off-duty Time — Single Driver

• 18 (1) A driver who is driving a commercial vehicle fitted with a sleeper berth may meet the mandatory off-duty time and daily off-duty time requirements of sections 13 and 14 by accumulating off-duty time in no more than 2 periods if

  • (a) neither period of off-duty time is shorter than 2 hours;

  • (b) the total of the 2 periods of off-duty time is at least 10 hours;

  • (c) the off-duty time is spent resting in the sleeper berth;

  • (c.1) the sleeper berth meets the requirements of Schedule 1;

  • (d) the total of the driving time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not exceed 13 hours;

  • (e) the elapsed time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not include any driving time after the 16^th hour after the driver comes on-duty;

  • (f) none of the daily off-duty time is deferred to the next day; and

  • (g) the total of the on-duty time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time referred to in paragraph (b) does not include any driving time after the 14^th hour.

• (2) The 16^th hour is calculated by

  • (a) excluding any period spent in the sleeper berth that is 2 hours or more in duration and that, when added to a subsequent period in the sleeper berth, totals at least 10 hours; and

  • (b) including

    • (i) all on-duty time,

    • (ii) all off-duty time not spent in the sleeper berth,

    • (iii) all periods of less than 2 hours spent in the sleeper berth, and

    • (iv) any other period spent in the sleeper berth that does not qualify as counting towards meeting the requirements of this section.

• (3) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 6]

Splitting of Daily Off-duty Time — Team of Drivers

• 19 (1) A team of drivers driving a commercial vehicle fitted with a sleeper berth may meet the mandatory off-duty time and daily off-duty time requirements of sections 13 and 14 by accumulating off-duty time in no more than 2 periods if

  • (a) neither period of off-duty time is shorter than 4 hours;

  • (b) the off-duty time is spent resting in the sleeper berth;

  • (c) the sleeper berth meets the requirements of Schedule 1;

  • (d) the total of the driving time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not exceed 13 hours;

  • (e) the elapsed time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not include any driving time after the 16^th hour after the driver comes on duty;

  • (f) none of the daily off-duty time is deferred to the next day; and

  • (g) the total of the on-duty time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time referred to in paragraph (b) does not include any driving time after the 14^th hour.

• (2) The 16^th hour is calculated by

  • (a) excluding any period spent in the sleeper berth that is 4 hours or more in duration and that, when added to a subsequent period in the sleeper berth, totals at least 8 hours; and

  • (b) including

    • (i) all on-duty time,

    • (ii) all off-duty time not spent in the sleeper berth,

    • (iii) all periods of less than 4 hours spent in the sleeper berth, and

    • (iv) any other period spent in the sleeper berth that does not qualify as counting towards meeting the requirements of this section.

• (3) [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 7]

[20 to 23 reserved]

Cycles

24 A motor carrier shall require that a driver follows and the driver shall follow either cycle 1 or cycle 2.

25 Subject to section 28, no motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive unless the driver has taken at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time in the preceding 14 days.

26 Subject to section 28, no motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver who is following cycle 1 to drive, and no driver who is following cycle 1 shall drive, after the driver has accumulated 70 hours of on-duty time during any period of 7 days.

27 Subject to section 28, no motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver who is following cycle 2 to drive and no driver who is following cycle 2 shall drive after the driver has accumulated

• (a) 120 hours of on-duty time during any period of 14 days; or

• (b) 70 hours of on-duty time without having taken at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time.

Cycle Reset — Off-duty Time

• 28 (1) A driver may end the current cycle and begin a new cycle if the driver first takes the following off-duty time:

  • (a) for cycle 1, at least 36 consecutive hours; or

  • (b) for cycle 2, at least 72 consecutive hours.

• (2) After taking the off-duty time, the driver begins a new cycle, the accumulated hours are set back to zero and the driver’s hours begin to accumulate again.

Cycle Switching — Off-duty Time

• 29 (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to switch and no driver shall switch from one cycle to the other without first taking the following off-duty time before beginning to drive again:

  • (a) to switch from cycle 1 to cycle 2, at least 36 consecutive hours; or

  • (b) to switch from cycle 2 to cycle 1, at least 72 consecutive hours.

• (2) After taking the off-duty time, the driver begins the other cycle, the accumulated hours are set back to zero and the driver’s hours begin to accumulate again.

[30 to 36 reserved]

Scheduling — Driving North of Latitude 60°N

Application

37 Sections 39 to 54 apply in respect of driving north of latitude 60°N.

38 [Repealed, SOR/2019-165, s. 10]

Mandatory Off-duty Time

• 39 (1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated more than 15 hours of driving time or 18 hours of on-duty time unless they take at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.

• (2) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive if more than 20 hours of time has elapsed between the conclusion of the most recent period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time and the beginning of the next period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time.