Canada announces fines for violations of hours of service, ELD regs

Truckers in Canada will now be facing fines for violations of federal regulations involving hours of service and electronic logging devices.

On July 10, Transport Canada announced that enforcement officers across the country will now be able to issue fines to drivers or carriers for violations of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours-of-Service Regulations.

According to the agency, “the change was made possible by amending the Contraventions Regulations, which provided new ways to spell out contraventions in the hours of service, including the amount of fines.”

“The safety and security of Canadians is a top priority for the Government of Canada,” the agency said in a statement. “Promoting commercial vehicle safety is of critical importance, which is why we are looking at new enforcement measures that can bring about positive changes.”

The 60 new federal fines will be divided into three tiers: minor, moderate or severe.

Administrative and minor recordkeeping contraventions make up the lowest tier of fines. The second tier includes on-duty/drive limitations, off-duty requirements, more serious recordkeeping contraventions that increase risk, along with contraventions that make it difficult to enforce carrier compliance. The severe infractions are comprised of tampering, falsifying or obstructing records, and the most serious on-duty/driving limitations and rest requirements.

Fine amounts range from $300 to $1,000 for drivers, and $600 to $2,000 for motor carriers.

Transport Canada says the use of fines could help ease the strain on the country’s justice system by streamlining the process by which drivers and carriers respond to violations.

“By designating certain provisions of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours-of-Service Regulations as contraventions, authorities have a new tool that allows for swift enforcement,” the agency said. “Previously, offenders of these regulations could be solely subjected to warnings only, or go through the court process, which takes a considerable amount of time and placed a strain on the justice system.”

The agency adds that issuing contravention tickets “does not replace the court process”, and is still an option “to prosecute offenders of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours-of-Service Regulations.”

“We recognize that going through the court process for violations of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours-of-Service Regulations can tie up the justice system and take time. By allowing enforcement authorities to directly fine violators, we’re giving them new tools to deliver quick and effective penalties,” The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Canada’s Minister of Transport, said in a statement. “The issuance of tickets – when stacked with our new measures on electronic logging devices – are helping to improve commercial vehicle safety for all Canadians.”

A full list of violations and their associated fines can be found here. LL