Canadian HOS (Hours of Service) rules are different from the U.S. rules. In Canada, when speaking of how long you can drive, the rules speak of “per day” and “work shift”. Per day refers to a calendar day (midnight to midnight). A work shift refers to the time between two periods of rest of at least 8 consecutive hours. You need to always be compliant with both.
Daily Driving Rule
- 13-Hour Rule: You’re limited to 13 hours of Driving time in a day (Midnight to Midnight) or a work shift (a work shift starts after being off-duty 8 consecutive hours). This rule is rather straight forward. In a day or a work shift you cannot log more than 13 hours as “Driving.” To drive again, you must be Off-Duty 8 consecutive hours. Off duty includes Off-Duty or Sleeper Berth.
- 14-Hour Rule: You cannot Drive once you have 14 hours of on-duty time in a day or work shift. On-Duty includes “Driving” and “On-Duty Not Driving.” You can still log On-Duty Not Driving after 14 hours on-duty, but you cannot log “Driving.” To drive again, you must be Off-Duty for 8 consecutive hours. Off duty includes Off-Duty or Sleeper Berth.
- 16-Hour Rule: It’s a ticking clock, which starts once you mark yourself on-duty. 16 hours from that point you can no longer log Driving. You need 8 consecutive hours Off-Duty to be allowed to drive again. Off duty includes Off-Duty or Sleeper Berth.
- You need to log at least 10 hours of off-duty time in a day (Midnight to Midnight).
In addition to Canadian Daily Driving Rules,
Canada required drivers to choose between two Cycles:
You must declare which cycle you are using every day in your logbook.
Cycle 1 - 70 hours in 7-days or
Cycle 2 - 120 hours in 14-day
When using Cycle 1, you cannot log more than 70 hours On-Duty (Driving & On-Duty Not Driving) in 7 days.
When using Cycle 2, you cannot log more than 120 hours On-Duty (Driving & On-Duty Not Driving) in 14 days. Also, when using Cycle 2, you cannot not drive after accumulating 70 hours on-duty without taking a period of 24 consecutive hours off-duty.
In both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2: you must have a period of at least 24 consecutive hours off-duty in the preceding 14 days.
Cycle Reset Rules or Switching Cycles:
- Cycle 1 Reset: To reset your hours to zero, you must take 36 consecutive hours off-duty.
- Cycle 2 Reset: To reset your hours to zero, you must take 72 consecutive hours off-duty.
- To switch from cycle 1 to cycle 2 and vice versa: You must reset your hours. This means, to switch from cycle 1, to cycle 2, you must log 36 consecutive hours of Off-Duty. To switch from cycle 2, to cycle 1, you need to log 72 consecutive hours of Off-Duty.