CCMTA Issues Discussion Paper on Electronic On-Board Recorders

CTA and provincial associations formulating response

The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) circulated a discussion paper aimed at identifying key issues related to the development of a national standard mandating the use of electronic-on-board recorders (EOBRs) in commercial vehicles in Canada to key CCMTA stakeholders this week. In addition to providing background on the subject, the stakeholders are invited to answer a series of questions and provide whatever other information or comment they deem pertinent by March 11th. The discussion paper makes no recommendations on what a Canadian EOBR regulation might look like. It simply seeks feedback.

In the Spring of 2009, the Council of Deputy Ministers of Transportation directed the CCMTA to explore issues related to an EOBR mandate and report back with recommendations in the fall of 2010.  A project group was struck, with  representation from the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, and from Transport Canada and Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), with support from CCMTA.  An interim, high level report of the feedback will be made to the CCMTA’s Compliance and Regulatory Affairs committee in May and a final, detailed report will be written for presentation to the Council of Deputy Ministers of Transportation in October 2010.  The final report will present an aggregated analysis of stakeholder feedback as well as the working group’s analysis and recommendations.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) and the provincial trucking associations had been urging the Canadian governments to begin developing a Canadian position on EOBRs for the past four years. CTA favours a universal EOBR mandate to ensure a level competitive playing field in terms of compliance and to ensure that drivers are getting at least the prescribed opportunity for rest. However, it also recognizes the need to try and come up with a North American system where the programs in Canada and the United States are compatible with each other.

“We were not comfortable with leaving it entirely to the US to decide what a North American EOBR regime should look like,” says the CEO of CTA, David Bradley. “Had we done that on hours of service, for example, we wouldn’t have such things in Canada as the ability to split time in the sleeper berth, which gives drivers and carriers a lot more flexibility. But, the only way Canada can participate in the development of a North American system is if it has some ideas of its own in terms of what an EOBR rule should look like.”

“The discussion paper is part of a process for developing a Canadian standard,” he said. “There are a lot of issues that need to be ironed out; this is a very complex matter and we want our governments to get it right in terms of what is good for the Canadian situation and the Canadian industry. Then we will have something useful to share with the Americans. Experience has taught us that it is unlikely and not essential that the rules are identical in both countries, but they must be compatible. We don’t want to have to invest in different technology to operate in either country.”

However, he says “there is a growing recognition that the current compliance system which relies on paper logs is outdated, antiquated and susceptible to manipulation.”

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