Additional provinces come under HOS tent
VICTORIA -- Four more provinces -- B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, and New Brunswick -- have implemented hours-of-service rules for intra-provincial truckers. The rules, which mirror the federal regulation that kicked-in January 1, came into effect last week (March 1) for carriers who operate only in those provinces. However, both provincial and federally regulated carriers are operating under an "educational enforcement" period until June 30. Only a few provinces -- including Ontario, PEI, and Newfoundland -- enshrined provincial versions of the federal regulation on Jan. 1. Saskatchewan will roll out the rules April 1, while Alberta is the only province that has not set a final date. Government and industry there are conducting further consultations. Meanwhile, the British Columbia Trucking Association is urging regulators to allow local drivers to revert back to the previous HOS requirements. Local drivers don't have to carry logbooks, BCTA says, but must keep records showing duty status for each 24 hour period; splits driving and on-duty time, and indicates odometer readings of when the truck was used for personal use, among other requirements. Because of burdensome new record-keeping rules for local carriers, Manitoba is allowing local drivers to continue to operate under the old 160 km exemption.