Chapter 8 – Regulations and Rules

8.1 Introduction

In logistics, transportation is governed by a body of regulations, and each jurisdiction, whether provincial, federal or by country, may have different transportation-related regulations. However, generally speaking, the trucking, rail, air, and ocean modes of transportation are more similar than different. Nonetheless, it is imperative to review and check with the regulator body before moving freight into another province, state, or country. In this chapter, a framework of the rules for transportation is provided. Be mindful that laws evolve, and key takeaways from this chapter are discovering where to look for updates and confirming your understanding of the regulations.

8.2 Learning Objectives

  1. Understand who governs OTR transportation in Ontario.
  2. Understand the rules surrounding the hours of service in the trucking industry.
  3. Understand how to look up the rules pertaining to air cargo.

8.3 Pre-Assessment

8.4 Transportation Regulations

Each mode of transportation has a governing body that establishes rules and regulations for operating a commercial vehicle, vessel, airplane, or locomotive. In Canada, each province has specific regulations, and as such, the local governing body needs to be consulted before operating a commercial vehicle within each region. For example, trucking in Ontario is regulated by the Ministry of Transportation. At the federal level, transport is regulated by Transport Canada. In the United States of America, the Department of Transportation is the federal regulatory body. It is noteworthy that a Canadian transport operator must comply with the regulations in the specific region they are driving within even though their commercial license was granted in another jurisdiction. If the international regulation is more lenient than the Canadian standard, the driver must adhere to the stricter regulation. For example, suppose the permitted service hours are 14 in the USA and 12 in Canada. In that case, the Canadian driver must comply with the 12 hours if they pass through any Canadian province during their delivery. The same goes for an American driver when driving in Canada. Even though the permitted hours of service are longer in the USA, the American driver must comply with the Canadian regulations when driving in Canada.

Regulations govern vehicle safety, operating weight limits, licensing, service hours, and compliance. The following excerpts from the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, SOR/2005-313 outline the driving hours permitted for operating commercial vehicles.

Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, SOR/2005-313

Scheduling — Driving South of Latitude 60°N

Application

11 Sections 12 to 29 apply in respect of driving south of latitude 60°N.

Daily Driving and On-duty Time

  • 12(1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 13 hours of driving time in a day.
  • (2)No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 14 hours of on-duty time in a day.

Mandatory Off-duty Time

  • 13(1) No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 13 hours of driving time unless the driver takes at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.
  • (2)No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after the driver has accumulated 14 hours of on-duty time unless the driver takes at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before driving again.
  • (3)No motor carrier shall request, require or allow a driver to drive and no driver shall drive after 16 hours of time have elapsed between the conclusion of the most recent period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time and the beginning of the next period of 8 or more consecutive hours of off-duty time.

Daily Off-duty Time

  • 14(1) A motor carrier shall ensure that a driver takes and the driver shall take at least 10 hours of off-duty time in a day.
  • (2)Off-duty time other than the mandatory 8 consecutive hours may be distributed throughout the day in blocks of no less than 30 minutes each.
  • (3)The total amount of off-duty time taken by a driver in a day shall include at least 2 hours of off-duty time that does not form part of a period of 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time required by section 13.

[15 reserved]

Splitting of Daily Off-duty Time — Single Driver

  • 18(1) A driver who is driving a commercial vehicle fitted with a sleeper berth may meet the mandatory off-duty time and daily off-duty time requirements of sections 13 and 14 by accumulating off-duty time in no more than 2 periods if
    • o (a)neither period of off-duty time is shorter than 2 hours;
    • o (b)the total of the 2 periods of off-duty time is at least 10 hours;
    • o (c)the off-duty time is spent resting in the sleeper berth;
    • o (c.1)the sleeper berth meets the requirements of Schedule 1;
    • o (d)the total of the driving time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not exceed 13 hours;
    • o (e)the elapsed time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time does not include any driving time after the 16th hour after the driver comes on-duty;
    • o (f)none of the daily off-duty time is deferred to the next day; and
    • o (g)the total of the on-duty time in the periods immediately before and after each of the periods of off-duty time referred to in paragraph (b) does not include any driving time after the 14th
  • (2)The 16th hour is calculated by
    • o (a)excluding any period spent in the sleeper berth that is 2 hours or more in duration and that, when added to a subsequent period in the sleeper berth, totals at least 10 hours; and
    • o (b)including
      • (i)all on-duty time,
      • (ii)all off-duty time not spent in the sleeper berth,
      • (iii)all periods of less than 2 hours spent in the sleeper berth, and
      • (iv)any other period spent in the sleeper berth that does not qualify as counting towards meeting the requirements of this section.

Read the entire regulation here.

As you can see, the driving regulations can be confusing. Fortunately, trucking operations must have a compliance/safety officer who reviews drivers’ schedules and logbooks to ensure drivers comply with the stated rules and regulations. The Ministry of Transportation also has MTO officers that will audit drivers’ logbooks, and any found that do not adhere to the standard will result in penalties for the driver and the related trucking company.

Canadian Rules for Logbooks

Smart Drive Test. (2016, February 7). Log books | Canadian rules [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzu7H95TdBw&t=62s.

Weight Limit

All trucks and trailer configurations have weight limits based on the vehicle’s axle configuration.

Regulations exist that stipulate the weight limitations of a truck. The weight limit is based upon several factors, such as axle configuration and truck length. However, the weight limit and truck configuration are province-dependent. In 2010, Ontario introduced a four-phase change to the vehicle weight and dimension regulation. The Highway Traffic Act, Part VII: Load and Dimensions prescribes Ontario’s vehicle weight and dimension limits. These regulations are administered by the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario (MTO).

The reform is designed to protect the infrastructure of Ontario’s highways, bridges, and pavement from excessive wear. The reform introduces a two-tier system of vehicle weights and dimensions. One tier is the safe, productive, infrastructure-friendly (SPIF) vehicles and non-SPIF vehicles. The maximum truck length SPIF vehicles. The change requires SPIF vehicles to be equipped with self-steering axles and load-equalized axles. According to the MTO guide to vehicle weights after December 2020, all commercial vehicles must be SPIF compliant, and all grandfathering exceptions will expire (Highway Traffic Act, 2021).

It is important to note that the regulation should be consulted before any fleet decisions are made. Currently, the industry standard for a five-axle 53-foot truck and trailer configuration is a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 lbs. The video below explains this further.

Commercial Vehicle Weight Limit

Armor Freight Services. (2019, October 24). Commercial vehicle weight limit [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81fawkRb3io.

Further Reading: Ontario Vehicle Weight and Dimension Limits

Read the updates and changes to regulations on weights and dimensions for SPIF vehicles in Ontario.

Read the full article here.

Air Cargo Regulations in Canada

In Canada, the aviation sector is governed at the federal level. Licences, permits and certificates, piloting, ownership requirements, aircraft registration, and passenger right are governed by the following legislation:

Compliance with these regulations has the following considerations. Shipments are only acceptable for transportation when the shipper, consignee, or owner has complied with the rules and regulations of the tariffs and all laws, ordinances, and other governmental rules and regulations governing the transportation of the shipment. Each country has specific air cargo packaging, security, and customs requirements. Often freight forwarders have expertise in each region and ensure compliance with the regulations. The Canada Transportation ACT (CTA) is responsible for monitoring Canada’s air carriers’ compliance. The CTA can conduct investigations, impose administrative monetary penalties and suspend or revoke licenses.

IATAtv. (2020, September 20). What’s new in the 2021 IATA Special Cargo Regulations? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l84kya94LMQ

Railways

Transport Canada is primarily responsible for enforcing rail safety regulations (Railway Safety Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 32 (4th Supp.))) and conducting research and development to improve railroad safety. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) promotes safe, environmentally sound, successful railroad transportation in the USA.

Further Reading: Rail Transportation Legislation in Canada

Review the various sections of the Government of Canada Rail Transportation guidelines that pertain to freight, shipping, safety, and more.

8.5 Summary

Rules, rules, and more rules. The key takeaways from this chapter are that companies moving freight anywhere in the world must adhere to the latest regulations set by the governing regulatory organization, and it is essential to keep current with the latest legislation.

8.6 Post Assessment (Check Your Understanding)

8.7 Chapter References

Aeronautics Act. RSC 1985, c A-2. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-10.4/

Armor Freight Services. (2019, October 24). Commercial vehicle weight limit [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81fawkRb3io.

Canada Transport Act. SC 1996, c 10. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-10.4/

Carriage by Air Act. RSC 1985, c C-26. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-26/index.html

Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, SOR/05-313. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2005-313/FullText.html

Highway Traffic Act. RSO 1990, c H.8. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h08#top

IATAtv. (2020, September 20). What’s new in the 2021 IATA Special Cargo Regulations? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l84kya94LMQ

Railway Safety Act. RSC 1985, c 32 (4th Supp.). https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/r-4.2/

Smart Drive Test. (2016, February 7). Log books | Canadian rules [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzu7H95TdBw&t=62s.

Transport Canada. (2021, November 22). Motor carriers, commercial vehicles and drivers. Government of Canada. https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/motor-vehicle-safety/motor-carriers-commercial-vehicles-drivers

Transport Canada. (2020, March 24). Rail transportation. Government of Canada. https://tc.canada.ca/en/rail-transportation

Vehicle Weights and Dimensions – For Safe, Productive and Infrastructure-Friendly Vehicles. O. Reg. 413/05. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/050413

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