Canada's new hours-of-service (HOS) rules, which go into effect Jan. 1, 2007, were officially announced last month in the Canada Gazette. According to the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), the core of the rule is that drivers must spend at least 10 hours off-duty each day.
The published rule is consistent with the expectations of CTA, Canada's trucking lobbying group,
Additional aspects include:
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Team drivers with sleeper berths may split their off-duty time into two four-hour periods; the remaining two hours can be split, as long as each time slot is at least 30 minutes.
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Solo drivers with sleeper berths may split their off-duty time into two periods, as long as no single period is less than two hours.
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Solo drivers who do not have sleepers must have an off-duty period of at least eight consecutive hours; the remaining two hours can be split, as long as each period is at least 30 minutes.
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Maximum of 13 hours/day driving time, 14 hours/day on-duty time.
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Eight consecutive hours of hour-duty time must be taken at least every 16 hours.
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In a 14-day cycle, drivers may accumulate no more than 120 hours on-duty time, nor 70 hours on-duty without taking at least 24 consecutive hours off-duty.
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In a 7-day cycle, a driver may be on-duty no more than 70 hours
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Drivers can reset a 7-day cycle after at least 36 consecutive hours off-duty; a 14-day cycle may be reset after at least 72 hours off-duty.
To view the rule in its entirety, go to http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partII/2005/20051116.
