CANADA’S ELD MANDATE GOES LIVE

After lingering in the shadows for years, it’s finally here. The Canadian ELD mandate will go into effect on June 12, 2021. There’s just one problem – none of the electronic logging devices that are currently on the market meet the criteria established by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators.

Unlike in the United States, Canada requires third party testing for devices (the FMCSA allows U.S. companies to self-certify). Canadian devices will have to warn drivers when they have 30 minutes left on the clock, and put limits on personal conveyance. As of publication, not a single device has been approved.

At this point, you may be wondering how your drivers could possibly be expected to comply with the mandate, without any usable devices. Canada’s Ministry of Transport plans to address this shortcoming with a year of ‘progressive enforcement.’ That is, while suppliers work on creating a compliant device, the CCMTA will spend a year reminding companies of these new standards.

The agency plans to provide six months of education about the ELD mandate, followed by six months of warnings, before issuing actual penalties beginning on June 12, 2022.

This could be a potential sore spot for your fleet. Electronic logging devices generally aren’t a drivers’ favorite tool. Most fleets operating across North America have branches in the United States and Canada, and we recommend reaching out to your cohorts across the border to help plan for this change.