Continuing to support electronic on-board computers for trucks, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said the latest United States proposal “as currently outlined may have a relatively minor impact on Canadian carriers.”
However, CTA added that Transport Canada and the provinces may well take their lead from the United States in terms of an on-board recorder policy for Canada.
“Clearly the continued use of paper logbooks to ensure adherence with the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations in today's high-tech trucks is not supportable in the longer term,” David Bradley, CTA chief executive officer, said in a news release. “The sooner governments provide carriers that are already using electronic on-board recorders, or those who would be willing to adopt them, with meaningful incentives, the better will be compliance with hour-of-service rules and the more level the playing field will be for all.”
The US Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) recently proposed that certain carriers be required to install electronic on-board recorders in all of their commercial vehicles, and others will be given incentives for voluntary use.
CTA has argued for mandatory recorders on all trucks, with the technology choice left to carriers. A key component of its position is that government policies on recorders must be fully harmonized between Canada and the United States.