Transport Canada recently made two long awaited announcements. On February 15th they revealed to Canadian Press that Electronic Logging devices (ELD’s) and Electronic Stability Control Systems (ESC’s)would become mandatory on Heavy Duty Vehicles in Canada. The PMTC has long been in favour of both of these mandates, and we welcome this news from Transport Canada.
ESC’s
While no timeline was announced, Transport Canada did announce that a new manufacturing standard will be put in place that requires these systems to be installed on all new Heavy Duty Vehicles Manufactured for the Canadian Marketplace. In my view, the sooner the better for this standard. These systems mitigate the chances of a rollover or collision, and while they are not foolproof and can not compensate for all errors in judgement, they have been proven to greatly reduce the risk of incidents, and in cases where they may not prevent them, they still can reduce the impact. Nothing is required from the manufacturers to meet this standard, as many truck purchasers have been ordering trucks with versions of ESC’s for quite some time now. The benefits from these systems have been proven over time to far outweigh the cost of implementation. Let’s hope this standard is introduced as soon as 2017.
ELD’s
Electronic Logging Devices have garnered a lot of attention over the years, and it has been a much more controversial topic than ESC’s. To me, this mandate is also a no brainer. The paper logging system is outdated
and antiquated in the 21st century. Everything in our lives around us, both professional and personal, has been inundated with technological advances over the years that have increased productivity and oversight. While you can argue that not all advances are for the better, there is no valid argument against this one that I have seen presented to date. Pulling out a paper and pen to complete a legal log of your hours is just plain ludicrous in todays environment. Can you imagine going to the office and arguing with your employer that computers should be removed from the offices and that everyone should go back to simply communicating with pen, paper and phones??? You would be laughed out of the office, so why has these been accepted for so many years in the trucking industry? The fact that log books are refereed to as comic books by drivers tells you all you need to know. Will electronic logs eliminate all manners and forms of “bending” the rules? Of course not, no matter what regulations are put in place, someone will always try to circumvent the rules and find some sort of perceived advantage, but no one can argue that it will greatly reduce the amount or rule bending that takes place and will make it much more difficult to get away with. While I fully believe the vast majority of companies and operators in our industry are following the rules currently, even in today’s paper environment, the introduction of ELD’s will increase oversight and encourage even more compliance. We all know that rules and regulations are made for the few that do not follow them, not the majority that do. The increased oversight will help dramatically to level the playing field, and will help to remove unscrupulous operators from our industry, whose business plans include “fracturing” the laws. These type of operators contribute significantly to keeping rates low on the backs of their employees, and to the detriment of the industry, by undercutting rates. Companies who operate legally are put at a disadvantage in these cases, and that is something that we as an industry must do everything we can to combat.
The benefits of these devices have easily proved themselves over time to fleet operators and drivers who have instituted these on their own as well. In my previous employment life, I introduced and rolled out Electronic logs for a company. At the beginning of the process, we had a roughly 50/50 split in our driver fleet, within 6 months of introduction, this was easily converted to an 90/10 split in favour of Electronic logs. It even got to the point that if a unit went down in a driver’s trucks, I had him or her in my office asking when the system was going to get repaired, as they were tired of doing a paper log again after only a day or two. The majority of drivers, in my experience, soon get used to the systems and embrace them. From a management standpoint, the amount of time that was saved in verifying and checking log compliance was reduced by well more than 50%, and a lot of verification that was not being done prior, was now being done. Verification can also be done in real time, and trip planning for fleet managers and drivers becomes much easier and transparent. There is simply no good argument against the introduction of these systems!! With the US recently announcing its mandate that is to come into force in late 2017, it made sense that Canada followed suit. Transport Canada has yet to announce an implementation date for this mandate, but have indicated it is likely to closely follow the timelines of the US mandate. While we do view this announcement as a positive step, much work is yet to be done. In order for the Standard to have any teeth, Transport Canada must work with the Provinces towards Provincial & Territorial Mandates as well, as Transport Canada has jurisdiction over Fleets that cross Provincial and territorial boundaries only. Transport Canada also has to rely on the Provinces to enforce Federal Rules at the roadside. The PMTC has been involved in consultation with the CCMTA and Transport Canada on this topic dating back to 2009. We have also documented our support and views on this subject to Transport Canada in 2010, 2011 and again in 2015. we will continue to ensure our views are known as one of the stakeholders as we move towards a standard and implementation date.
About the Author
“Mike has 25 years’ of wide ranging experience in the trucking industry, performing such duties as a livestock and grain hauler for 3 years, followed by 5 years of long haul across North America hauling refrigerated and general freight. Mike was also a full time certified driver trainer for 2 years, and then transitioned into Safety and Compliance for 2 years, and then spent over 12 years as a Fleet manager for a Private Fleet. Mike is now the President of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, Canada’s only National Association that represents the views and interest of today’s Private Fleets.” Mike can be reached at trucks@pmtc.ca
