Trashing paper logs for digital: Canada to mandate ELDs, industry says benefits outweigh costs.

• Author: Myers, Ella
• Position: Transportation

Canadian truck drivers can start throwing away their pens and pencils over the next few months. Traditional paper logs used to track hours will be phased out in favour of electronic logging devices (ELDs).

A Canadian Press report in February said that Transport Canada intends to introduce legislation to mandate electronic logging devices. The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) confirmed this report.

"It's something we've been : working on with the government to bring about," said the CTA's vice-president of communications, Marco Beghetto. "There's a good percentage of companies that are using them voluntarily already. They're a no-brainer."

The regulations for hours-of-service (HOS) are not changing. The legislation will simply require that logs are done electronically, rather than manually "It's enhancement on safety and fatigue compliance. The vast majority of companies comply, but in terms of enforcement abilities, log books aren't bulletproof; you have situations where they can be manipulated," said Beghetto. "We've heard of dual log books, one for the enforcement officer and one for yourself."

Beghetto said the logic behind the mandate is to bring tighter compliance to hours of service, decrease fatigue, and cut down on administrative costs.

The U.S. mandated ELDs in December and implementation is expected to be complete by late 2017. The American Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has opposed the move, saying it violates driver privacy, and that the installation costs could be prohibitive.

The OOIDA's Northern counterpart, the Owner-Operator's Business Association of Canada (OBAC), questions whether a mandate is necessary.

"We don't share OOIDA's outright opposition to a mandate of ELDs, although we still have outstanding concerns that haven't been addressed," said Joanne Ritchie, OBAC's executive director.

Ritchie said that they have not been given any evidence of improved safety or lower fatigue associated with ELDs, or seen the results of a cost-benefit analysis by Transport Canada. However, she said that the...