Minister Announces Amendments to Hours of Service Regulations
for Commercial Drivers 

As of January 1, 2007, commercial drivers will have new limits on the amount of driving and on-duty time per day.  Amendments are being made to the provincial Highway Traffic Hours of Service Regulations to mirror new federal regulations and harmonize these requirements with the rest of the country. 

�Motor registration staff have been working diligently over the last three years to ensure that industry is prepared for these amendments,� said the Honourable Dianne Whalen, Minister of Government Services.  �Staff have held several information sessions with commercial drivers and operators over that time, most recently over the last two weeks, so that they understand how these regulations will affect commercial truck drivers in this province.  Ultimately, these regulations will aim to reduce driver fatigue in the interest of protecting public safety.� 

The Hours of Service Regulations are intended to provide a measure of fatigue management and its associated impacts on commercial drivers.  Studies have shown that beyond 17 hours of �wakeness�, driver performance decreases rapidly.  In fact, beyond 16 hours of work, fatigue can be measured and, in most cases, can be compared to a person with a blood alcohol content of .05 per cent. 

Some key changes are:

�                     Maximum on-duty time has been reduced from 15 hours to 14 hours per day.

�                     Commercial drivers will have a 16-hour window available for all driving and on-duty time.  This allows for a two-hour break so that drivers do not exceed being on duty for more than 14 hours.

�                     The minimum off-duty time in a day has been increased from eight hours to 10.

�                     There are specific amendments to allow for time waiting for and being on board ferries to count towards off-duty time in certain cases.

�                     Commercial drivers will be allowed to be on duty for a maximum of 70 hours in seven days and 120 hours in 14 days.

�                     Commercial drivers must have 24 consecutive hours off-duty in every 14-day period. 

�We recognize that it will take some time for commercial drivers to get used to these amended regulations which is why we will have a period of soft enforcement for the next six months, up to July 1, 2007,� said Minister Whalen.  �If a commercial driver is stopped and is found to be in compliance with the old regulations, the driver will be advised of the changes and allowed to proceed.  However, if a commercial driver is stopped and is not complying with either the old or new regulations, then they will be ticketed and possibly placed out of service.�  

To view the amended regulations, please visit the following web site after January 5, 2007: //www.gov.nl.ca/hoa/regulations/rc961001.htm 

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Media contact:
Vanessa Colman-Sadd
Director of Communications
Department of Government Services
709-729-4860, 682-6593
vanessacolmansadd@gov.nl.ca