Who the rules cover
The Regulations apply to commercial vehicles: trucks, tractors and trailers, or combinations of them, with a registered gross vehicle weight over 4,500 kg, and buses designed to seat more than 10 people including the driver (s. 1). Some vehicles are excluded, such as two or three-axle vehicles carrying the primary products of a farm, forest, sea or lake when the driver or carrier is the producer, emergency vehicles, and vehicles giving relief in a public welfare emergency (s. 2). These are the federal rules, which govern carriers operating across provincial or national borders; provinces regulate carriers that stay within one province, so check your province’s rules if that is you.
The daily limits (s. 12)
In a day, a driver may not drive after 13 hours of driving time or after 14 hours of on-duty time. A "day" is a 24-hour period that begins at the hour the motor carrier designates for the driver.
The shift limits (s. 13)
- After 13 hours of driving, or 14 hours on duty, the driver must take at least 8 consecutive hours off duty before driving again.
- No driving after 16 hours have elapsed between the end of the most recent 8 or more consecutive hours off and the start of the next 8 hours off. The 16 hours count everything, including breaks, except qualifying split sleeper periods.
Daily off-duty time (s. 14)
- At least 10 hours off duty in each day.
- At least 2 hours of those must be outside the 8 consecutive hours.
- Off-duty time other than the 8 consecutive hours may be taken in blocks of no less than 30 minutes.
A driver who is not splitting off-duty time may defer up to 2 hours of the daily off-duty time to the next day, if the total off-duty time over the two days is at least 20 hours, the deferred time is added to the 8 consecutive hours on the second day, driving over the two days does not exceed 26 hours, and the deferral is declared in the record of duty status (s. 16).
Cycles (ss. 24 to 27)
| Cycle | Limit |
|---|---|
| Cycle 1 | No driving after 70 hours on duty in any period of 7 days. |
| Cycle 2 | No driving after 120 hours on duty in any period of 14 days, or after 70 hours on duty without 24 consecutive hours off. |
The carrier requires the driver to follow one of the two. Whatever the cycle, a driver may not drive without having taken at least 24 consecutive hours off duty in the preceding 14 days (s. 25).
Resetting and switching cycles (ss. 28, 29)
- A cycle can be reset to zero by taking 36 consecutive hours off on cycle 1, or 72 consecutive hours off on cycle 2.
- Switching from cycle 1 to cycle 2 needs 36 consecutive hours off first; from cycle 2 to cycle 1, 72 hours.
Sleeper berths
A single driver in a vehicle with a sleeper berth may meet the 8 consecutive hours and the daily off-duty time in no more than two periods (s. 18), and team drivers have their own split rules (s. 19). Periods of 2 hours or more in the sleeper berth that add up with a later sleeper period to at least 10 hours are left out when the 16th hour is worked out.
North of 60°N
Different limits apply to driving north of latitude 60°N, set out in sections 39 to 54 of the Regulations, including 15 hours of driving time.
Electronic logging devices
Carriers must equip their commercial vehicles with an ELD that meets the Technical Standard, with some exceptions. See ELD rules in Canada.
Plan a shift against these limits with the Canadian hours of service calculator.