Heavy vehicle drivers must comply with the requirements concerning driving and off-duty time and keep track of their hours in a record of duty status that is produced using an electronic logging device (ELD).
The rules governing driving time, on-duty time and off-duty time require drivers of heavy vehiclesVehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,500 kg or more, as indicated on the compliance label. to have a minimum number of hours of rest before getting back on the road and to abide by the maximum number of hours of driving time.
Drivers who are tired pose a higher risk for their own safety and that of other road users.
Abiding by the hours of drivingThe period of time during which a driver operates a heavy vehicle while the engine is running. and off-duty timeAny period of time other than a driver's hours of service. reduces the risk of driver fatigue.
Drivers must comply with the rules governing driving time and off-duty time if they drive one of the following vehicles:
Drivers of buses or minibuses (other than those used for urban transit) must abide by the rules governing driving time and off-duty time, as these vehicles are considered heavy vehicles.
Drivers and operators of the following heavy vehicles are exempted from the regulatory requirements governing hours of driving and off-duty time.
A heavy vehicle used for an entire day by an individual for personal purposes (other than commercial or professional ones), such as:
A heavy vehicle used during part of the day by an individual for personal purposes (other than commercial or professional ones) is exempted for the first 75 kilometres travelled in a day, where the following conditions have been met:
For instance, in the case of a driver who leaves the home terminal (establishment) at the wheel of a heavy vehicle to return home, only the time it takes to drive the first 75 kilometres will be counted as off-duty time.
If the distance exceeds 75 kilometres, the time to cover this additional distance will be deemed driving hours.
Examples of emergency vehicles:
A road vehicle, other than a vehicle mounted on a truck chassis, manufactured to perform work, the work station of which is an integral part of the driver’s cab, such as:
The farm tractorA tractor that is equipped with tires and is generally used for agricultural purposes, whether or not it is authorized for use on public roads. The tractor must belong to an individual or company that owns or leases a farm and whose principal occupation is farming, or that is a member of an association certified under the Farm Producers Act. and farm machinery may be owned by:
The farm trailerA trailer with a net weight of 2,300 kg or less owned by a farmer and used primarily to carry farm produce or the equipment required to produce it. must be owned by a farmerA person holding a registration card for an agricultural operation issued by the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec, or a person who is a member of an association certified under the Farm Producers Act..
For the vehicle to be exempted, urban transit must be provided by a public transit corporation or under a contract with a public transit body, an inter-municipal commission or board, a municipality or group of municipalities.
The combination of vehicles is exempted, except for a vehicle combination transporting dangerous substances requiring the display of safety marks.
To be exempted, the vehicle must not require the display of safety marks, and cannot be a minibus or a tow truck.
The truck must be used to transport the primary products of a farm, forest or fishery, if the operator of the truck is the producer of the products. For example, this person could be a potato grower who makes deliveries.
This exemption also applies to a vehicle that is used to return to a producer’s place of business, in which case the vehicle must be unladen or must only be carrying goods that go into operating the farm, forest or fishery.
Important: Any time spent at the wheel of a heavy vehicle to which the Regulation applies must be counted as on-duty time when the vehicle is being driven for an operator.
When planning a schedule, a driver must comply with several requirements.
A driver must have taken at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time during the preceding 14 days.
A driver may choose to calculate his or her hours of driving and off-duty time based on a cycle of:
| Cycle 1 (7 days) | Cycle 2 (14 days) |
|---|---|
| No driving is allowed after the driver has accumulated 70 hours of on-duty time over a period of 7 consecutive days. | No driving is allowed after the driver has accumulated:
|
To reset a current cycle, to begin a new one or to switch cycles, the driver must take:
After having taken this off-duty time, the driver begins a new cycle. The cycle is therefore reset to zero and the hours of on-duty time begin to accumulate again.
A work shift is the time between 2 periods of at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time.
No driving is allowed if…
A day is a period of 24 hours that begins at the time designated by the operator.
| Daily requirements | No driving is allowed after the driver has accumulated… |
|---|---|
To be allowed to drive, a driver must have taken at least 10 hours of off-duty time during each of the 14 previous days, as follows:
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Consult the publication entitled Driving and Off-Duty Time for Heavy Vehicle Drivers (PDF, 2.1 Mo) to learn about the rules to follow in the event of:
All heavy vehicles subject to the Regulation respecting the hours of driving and rest of heavy vehicle drivers must be equipped with an ELD for the purposes of producing a record of duty status, with the following exceptions:
Drivers must produce a record of duty status in which their hours of driving, on-duty time other than driving and off-duty time are recorded. The record of duty status must be prepared using an ELD unless the vehicle is not required to be equipped with an ELD.
Drivers must produce a record of duty status regardless of whether or not the vehicle is required to be equipped with an ELD. In cases where the record of duty status does not have to be produced using an ELD, it can be produced on paper or using a device other than an ELD.
The duty status grid starts at the same time that the driver’s day starts.
Note, however, that drivers do not have to produce a record of duty status if all of the following conditions apply:
The Highway Safety Code prohibits drivers from keeping more than one record of duty status for the same day, except where authorized by regulation.
Drivers may keep more than one record of duty status for the same day in the following situations:
Drivers who are required to produce a record of duty status must keep the following documents in the vehicle in their original format:
Drivers have 20 days to submit the following documents to the operator:
Peace officers may request that a driver make available or forward to them the driver’s records of duty status for the current day and for the 14 previous days, as well as the supporting documents for the current trip.
To make available an electronic document that was not produced by an ELD, the driver can either produce a display onscreen or provide a printout of the document. Such documents can be forwarded by email.
If the document was produced using an ELD, the driver must forward the document in the format and using the technological means determined by the peace officer from among the prescribed options supported by the ELD. In Québec, documents generated by ELDs are to be forwarded by email.
When drivers are unable to forward records of duty status electronically, they must enter the information they contain on records of duty status in paper form.
Last update: May 2, 2023
