Canadian duty cycle and HOS

you have to be legal on the last 8 days,on US rules,(70/8) to run 8)8) down here.l haven't crossed in ten years,so it could of changed,So if you are over hours when get to the border,you would need to take 34 hours off to reset a fresh 70..

 

Pretty much.

24 hours off in the previous 14 but it doesn't have to be midnight to midnight so 24 hours off consecutively 'on one day' isn't quite accurate.

As for jumping across the border the 70/8 is only one of the differences. The three biggest are the 30 minute break (you can't drive if you haven't had a solid 30 minute break in the last 8 hours),the 11 hour driving limit in a shift and the 10 hours consecutive off duty to reset the shift.

Other differences are how the split sleeper berth works, the fact that the day concept doesn't exist and some others you probably don't need to worry about.

 

@DDlighttruck I had the same confusion about running Canada. I've never been but SNI says I'll be crossing the border every so often and some of the threads I've seen just got me more confused. @tinytim thanks, you explained it nice and simply. Hopefully they touch on it a little during orientation. My learning curve is getting greater by the minute.

 

Probably the biggest thing for US drivers coming to Canada is the difference in the reset. 34 hours isn't enough, you need 36 hours for it to count as a reset here. The previously mentioned 24 consecutive hours off in the past 14 days can also get you in trouble. And you have to have the last 14 days of log sheets instead of just the last 7.

Another thing that can get you in trouble up here if you run hard is the 'day'. Though you can drive up to 13 hours in a shift in Canada vs only 11 in the US you can also drive only 13 in a 'day' in Canada. In the US you could finish your shift at 7:00 AM having driven the full 7 hours since midnight. At 5:00 PM you now have a new shift available. 15 minutes for a pre trip and then drive straight through to midnight, 6.75 hours. That's perfectly legal in the US but amounts to 13.75 driving hours the same 'day' and will get you in trouble in Canada. (there's something called the Off Duty Deferral that you can use to get past that but it's not worth getting into.)

 

Actually as a US driver in Canada, you don't have to produce the additional 7 days - OPP

There is something in the US/Canadian agreement refers to this or an amendment about this. I understand from the OPP and other sources that there is a reason for this, one mentioned that an authority in Canada can't examine the logs and look for violations under US law, they have no authority to do so and having anything beyond the required 7 days is worthless to them.

 

I will 100% agree with you on this. And having to deal with the difference between Canadian and US HOSs are a pain. Its why I'm glad I'm on electronic logs. Our qualcomm does a very good job at tracking hours and you can switch back and forth between the 3 HOS (There is actually a 3rd set for far north Canada but you don't really need to know about that one unless you are driving in the territories.)

I'm also glad to have Elogs because I'm pretty sure I'd have been that guy to fudge paperlogs though not keep two log books.

 

I'll take your word for it but if that's the case a US driver doesn't need be concerned with the 24 consecutive hours off in the past 14 days which has nothing to do with checking for violations under US law. Interesting.

 

On second thought I wouldn't recommend a US driver take your word for it. I can find nothing to support that and Keller, which is usually a reliable source, disagrees. Do you have more than on OPP's understanding to go on?

I am a U.S. driver operating into Canada. Am I required to have the additional items Canada requires on the daily log?

Yes. Complying with Canada’s hours of service regulations involves including the additional items Canada requires on the log, such as, the driver’s name printed, the driver’s cycle declaration, starting and ending odometer reading, carrier’s principle place of business address, and personal use starting and ending odometer reading (if applicable). Also, if a U.S. driver entering Canada doesn’t have a log for the day immediately preceding the day on which he/she will be entering Canada, he/she must provide in the “Remarks” section a record of all off-duty and on-duty hours for the previous 14 days.

Does the requirement to have 24 hours off duty at some point within the previous 14 days apply to U.S. drivers?

Yes. Upon entering Canada, a U.S. driver should be prepared to show at least 24 consecutive hours of off-duty time at some point within the previous 14 days.
https://www.drivermanagement.com/app/help/reguhelp/Canada/Hours_of_service_FAQs_.htm