ELDs in Canada: Advantages beyond compliance

From safety to efficiency to operational savings, find out the additional business areas where ELD solutions offer help 

With the Canadian ELD (Electronic Logging Device) mandate in effect, fleet owners and managers need to find out exactly how these systems will affect their fleets. On January 1, 2023, the Canadian government began enforcing the mandate, which requires businesses with commercial motor vehicles crossing provincial borders and driving under the Canada’s Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service (HOS) Regulations rules to employ an officially certified* ELD. While several factors play into the ELD mandate, the primary concern is safety.

ELDs explained

ELD records the movements of a CMV (Commercial Motor Vehicle) as well as keeping track of a driver’s driving time or HoS (Hours of Service).  It also monitors the engine data such as engine on & off status, miles driven and engine hours.

Advantages beyond compliance

While some fleets may simply adopt ELDs for the sake of compliancy, it is important to also understand how these systems can ultimately benefit an operation, beyond satisfying the needs of the government.  For drivers, ELDs automate HoS compliance, eliminating paper logging. Not only does this reduce unsafe behaviours, but a driver will never suffer a suspension or fine due to a simple clerical error with their paperwork. Alongside an accurate and accountable log of a driver’s HoS, fleet managers will also have a more accurate log of driver locations and activities, as well as the conditions of vehicles across the fleet.

The ELD advantage

Increased safety

Above all else, ELDs offer truckers and motorists a greater sense of safety while on the road. With ELDs, transport operators will be required to take adequate breaks, leading to fewer fatigue-related incidents. Drivers will also undergo closer monitoring and be rewarded based on objective performance standards, which encourage positive behavior and promote safer driving.

Operational efficiency

With ELDs, drivers will spend less time filling paper logs and focus more on the assigned tasks. Logging the HOS electronically, helps reducing the risk of paper log errors and provides more accurate reporting. ELDs also offer fleet managers the ability to maintain more accurate reporting, as well as the ability to monitor the condition of vehicles and reduce the vehicle maintenance costs. 

Equality across carriers

The ELD mandate will apply to all federally regulated CMVs and because of this, carriers will all operate under the same HoS rules, enforcement against those who break the rules will be standardized regardless of the CMV’s operating size.

Enhanced reporting tools

HoS are logged automatically, and reports can be printed, displayed, or emailed at the time of inspection. The HoS reporting tools in the Canadian mandate were also built with the U.S. mandate in mind, making cross-borders deliveries easy.

Prioritizing drivers

With ELDs, drivers can feel a greater sense of connectivity making them feel part of a larger team. Drivers can also feel a greater sense of security as ELDs can serve as powerful support tools in the event of an accident. Use of ELDs help drivers get back on the road with faster roadside inspections and have more control over their daily work.

While the design of Canada’s ELD mandate kept the U.S. regulation in mind, there are still some key differences that apply only to Canadian CMVs. Within Canada: drivers will be allotted 75km of personal conveyance, carriers will have to keep HoS log data for 14 days and the government will provide the location file to capture locations.

To learn more about the benefits of IoT solutions for fleet management solutions, speak with an IoT fleet consultant.

_{* A third-party certification body with the ISO/IEC 17065 standard required by Transport Canada to test and certify ELD.}