Canadian Hours of Service explained

With the Canadian ELD mandate coming into law on the 12th of June, there has never been a better time to remind yourself of how the Hours of Service (HOS) laws work in Canada.

HOS, for those that are unfamiliar are the maximum number of hours that a driver can work within a given period. They also outline the hours that a driver must rest between shifts, and the breaks that they must take during shifts. There are some differences in these hours between Canada and the US, as well as for drivers operating north of the 60N latitude, which will be covered later in the post.

Standard Canadian HOS regulations

• Drivers should not drive for more than 13 hours in a day.
• These 13 hours is part of a maximum 16-hour on-duty period.
• Drivers must have a continuous 8-hour rest period until they can start their next day.
• Over 7 consecutive days, drivers can drive for 70 hours. No driving can be done after 70 on-duty hours.
• Over 14 consecutive days, drivers can drive for 120 hours. No driving can be done after 120 on-duty hours. Drivers must also at some point during these 14 days take a full 24-hour break.

Canadian HOS regulations (north of 60°N latitude)

As drivers face a much different and often harsher set of conditions on the northern roads of Canada, the regulations have been adjusted to better suit their needs. These regulations apply to a driver as soon as they go above 60°N latitude –

• Drive time limit increases 2 hours to be 15 hours total.
• This 15-hour limit is part of an 18 hour on-duty period.
• Drivers have to have a continuous 8-hour rest period until they can start their next day
• Over 7 consecutive days, drivers can drive for 80 hours. No driving can be done after 80 on-duty hours. After this cycle drivers must take a 36-hour break before driving again.
• Over 14 consecutive days, drivers can drive for 120 hours. No driving can be done after 120 on-duty hours. Before exceeding 80 hours, drivers must take a full 24-hour break. After this cycle drivers must take a 72-hour break before driving again.

Differences between Canadian and US HOS regulations

The rules in Canada and the United States are similar, but there are some differences worth knowing about. The first thing to note, is that when operating in the US, a driver must abide to the US rules, and when driving in Canada, a driver must abide to the Canadian rules.  As well as this in the US drivers must have the past 7 days of eROD logs (including their current trip) available for inspection, where in Canada drivers must have the past 14 days (including their current trip) available.

A full rundown of differences in regulations for cross border drivers can be found here.