Every year around this time, STC eagerly waits for the latest version of the Out-of-Service (OOS) criteria, published by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. It’s a document that outlines all the reasons a driver or vehicle can be put OOS following a roadside inspection. The 2021 edition packed an unexpected punch. Among the additions was an interesting footnote to the Canadian Hours of Service criteria. More specifically, drivers caught without an Electronic Logging Device, as required in Canada beginning June 12, 2021, will NOT be placed OOS unless there is no other form of daily log or record of duty status produced. So, drivers may be warned for failing to use an ELD in Canada when the mandate hits in June, but they won’t be taken off the road as long as they have a paper log.
Sounds a little like soft enforcement, but only time will tell the magnitude of the penalty doled out after adjudication of any citation, and the deterrence it may offer.