Reminder: Members have until May 31, 2020, to complete a questionnaire about the implementation of mandates for electronic logging devices, National Safety Code Standard 13 – Trip Inspections, and speed limiters in BC.
This engagement is part of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure's work to enhance commercial motor vehicle safety by modernizing Division 37 – Safety Code under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations. Additional details are provided in NSC Bulletin 02-2020.
BCTA encourages all members to provide their input. The online questionnaire can be found at this link.
BCTA will be making a submission regarding the proposed changes, which we’ll share with members via the Bulletin.
Background
ELDs: As of June 12, 2021, commercial motor vehicles that cross provincial borders in Canada will be required to be equipped with an ELD. In response to these changes to the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations, MoTI must decide what the requirements will be for CMVs operating within BC.
BCTA’s main priority is safety, and as such we support an ELD mandate in BC that mirrors the federal requirements. ELDs have been shown to improve hours-of-service compliance, thereby reducing fatigued driving by commercial drivers and improving safety for all road users. Transport Canada estimated that the federal ELD mandate would reduce fatigue-related collisions by about 10 percent. As well, harmonizing provincial and federal regulations related to Hours of Service and ELDs will ensure a level playing field for all motor carriers across the country, whether they are provincially- or federally-regulated.
BCTA previously provided our position to the provincial government when the federal ELD regulation was introduced in 2019; see the June 24, 2019, Bulletin article, “BCTA Calls for BC to Harmonize with Federal ELD Mandate.”
NSC Standard 13 – Trip Inspections: BC is currently the only Canadian jurisdiction that hasn’t adopted NSC Standard 13. MoTI acknowledges that adopting the standard will provide several benefits to prevent the operation of vehicles with conditions that are likely to cause or contribute to a collision or vehicle breakdown. Some examples include detailed guidance to drivers and carriers about conducting trip inspections and completing trip inspection reports and specific direction of major and minor defects.
MoTI has also indicated that the adoption of this standard would likely have minimal impact on BC drivers and carriers, as those already required to complete trip inspection reports are using pre-printed or electronic reports that mirror the requirements of NSC Standard 13. For instance, the inspection reports in the logbooks BCTA sells follow NSC Standard 13 requirements.
The exception to this is the motor coach industry, which would be affected by shorter intervals in between the required inspections to the undercarriage, as per Schedule 4. To mitigate impacts, MoTI is considering modeling the adoption of the standard after Ontario, which requires Schedule 4 of the standard to be conducted every 30 days or 12,000 kms, whichever comes later (rather than whichever comes first, as currently prescribed in NSC Standard 13).
Speed Limiters: Since 2009, Ontario and Quebec have mandated that speed limiters be set at 105 km/h on commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 11,794 kilograms or more.
An Ontario Ministry of Transportation study found a 73 percent decrease in speed-related collisions involving commercial vehicles after enacting its speed limiter law. As well, recent analysis done by MoTI traffic safety experts has shown that the impact to travel times by a lowered travel speed on highways posted over 110km/h is likely to be minimal.
BCTA has supported mandating speed limiters set at 105 km/h in commercial vehicles since 2006, and supports simultaneous ELD and speed limiter mandates to help prevent an increase in speeding by commercial vehicles after ELDs become mandatory, which seems to have been the case in the US. Our recommendation is outlined in the October 21, 2019, Bulletin article, “BCTA Recommends Simultaneous Mandates for ELDs & Speed Limiters.”