Effective January 1, 2007, professional truck drivers in Canada will have to comply with new hours-of-service (HOS) rules. PeopleNet Canada announced this week that they’re also ready to go-- with an eDriver Logs application designed to make it easy for fleets and drivers to comply with the new rules.
The automated logging application runs on the company’s g3 Onboard Computing system to automatically record driver hours of service with minimum input from the driver, using functions within the g3 system, including GPS and PerformX vehicle monitoring software. According to PeopleNet, an auto duty-status change will move the driver between driving and on-duty status based upon movement and stop thresholds without any driver interaction.
With the press of a button, drivers can also record an international border crossing on the PeopleNet onboard computer. The system is designed to change its method of calculation when a driver indicates a border crossing to account for the fact that U.S. rules allow fewer daily driving hours than the Canadian regulations. The system will also issue an alert if a driver operating under Canadian rules has logged too much time to comply with U.S. standards.
eDriver Logs can also be used to display logs on demand on a web site for enforcement personnel, according to PeopleNet. The company’s wireless communications also make log information visible to fleet dispatchers, compliance officers and others.
According to some, the new Canadian HOS rules will be no simpler than the current U.S. HOS regulations. “The new hours-of-service regulations contain more than 14,000 words in 101 sections,” observed Jamie Williams, president of PeopleNet Canada. “It is a daunting training challenge for fleets and a steep learning curve for drivers.”
