The Ford Government is set to significantly improve commercial vehicle safety by introducing legislation that will replace paper logbooks with third-party, certified electronic logging devices (ELDs).

Vijay Thanigasalam, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation, debated today his Private Member’s Bill to move forward with a third-party certified ELD rule. The Bill received unanimous support from all patties in the Legislative Assembly at Second Reading.

Thanigasalam stated that carriers will benefit from this modernization. “Carriers will achieve substantial savings in time and processing costs as a result of the transition from paper logbooks to electronic logbooks. This will be especially helpful for small carriers, where we know that every dollar and cent counts for their operations,” he said.

The Ontario Trucking Association applauded the much-anticipated measure.

“By replacing antiquated paper logbooks, mandated third-party certified ELDs will improve the road safety performance of the commercial trucking industry by ensuring that all carriers required to manage driver fatigue follow the rules,” said Ontario Trucking Association Chair David Carruth. “Beyond its safety benefits, the regulation will also reduce red tape for the industry and the Government of Ontario.  We applaud MPP Thanigasalam, Minister Mulroney and the entire team at MTO for their leadership in this critical area of commercial vehicle safety.”

A small, but growing segment of non-compliant drivers and trucking company owners were using paper logbooks and self-certified ELDs to manipulate fatigue management rules, which significantly puts the motoring public at risk, says OTA.

The government bill must still go through one more reading and receive Royal Assent at which point amendments to the hours of service regulation can begin.