Exemption to allow an alternative to operating under the duty cycles established under the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations

Tracking Number – ASF-E-2010-04

Pursuant to subsection 16(1) of the Motor Vehicle Transport Act, after consulting with the affected provinces and territories and being of the opinion that the exemption is in the public interest and is not likely to affect motor carrier safety, I hereby exempt extra-provincial undertakings (federal motor carriers) and their commercial vehicle drivers who are employed or otherwise engaged in geophysical field operations from sections 24 to 29, sections 49 to 54 and subsection 82(1)(b) of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations (the Regulations), subject to the conditions set out below.

Purpose

The purpose of this exemption is to allow eligible extra-provincial undertakings and their drivers to operate under a more flexible work schedule that is applicable to an entire geophysical field operation crew, as an alternative to the accumulation of on-duty hours by individual drivers under either cycle 1 or cycle 2.

Application

This exemption applies to extra-provincial undertakings and their drivers of trucks, tractors, trailers or any combination of them that has a registered gross vehicle weight under 11,794 kg, and who are employed or otherwise engaged in geophysical field operations within, between and through the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the territories of Yukon, and Northwest Territories. For clarity, operating under this exemption is optional for eligible extra-provincial undertakings, which may choose to follow the normal cycle requirements of the Regulations rather than operate under the provisions of this exemption.

Definitions

For the purposes of this exemption,

“base jurisdiction” means the province or territory where the commercial vehicle is registered or base-plated.

“Enform” means the organization that serves as the government- recognized petroleum safety association for the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“geophysical field operations” means the measurement or investigation, by indirect methods, of the subsurface of the earth for the purpose of locating oil, gas or minerals or of determining the nature of the subsurface conditions and includes activities related to scouting, field tests of energy sources, calibration of instruments, cable ballasting, surveying, line clearing and preparation, drilling, blasting, operating vibrator equipment, recording results and clean-up or reclamation of the site.

Conditions

This exemption is subject to the following conditions:

  1. The extra-provincial undertaking shall hold a valid safety fitness certificate from the base jurisdiction, with a safety rating of either Satisfactory or Satisfactory Un-audited, issued pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Transport Act and its companion regulation, the Motor Carrier Safety Fitness Certificate Regulations.
     
  2. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, notify in writing the provincial hours of service director in the base jurisdiction of their intent to operate under the exemption.
     
  3. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, provide the provincial hours of service director in the base jurisdiction with a list of the commercial motor vehicles to be operated by the extra-provincial undertaking under the exemption, the licence plate numbers of the commercial motor vehicles and the provinces of issuance and keep the director informed of any changes so that the director may accurately and quickly identify the vehicles.
     
  4. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, provide the provincial hours of service director in the base jurisdiction with a list of the drivers who will operate a commercial motor vehicle under the exemption, the driver’s licence numbers of the drivers and the provinces of issuance and keep the director informed of any changes so that the director may accurately and quickly identify the drivers.
     
  5. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, require that a copy of the exemption and any acknowledgement letter received from the provincial hours of service director be placed in any commercial motor vehicle in respect of which the exemption applies.
     
  6. The extra-provincial undertaking shall notify the provincial hours of service director in the base jurisdiction without delay of any accident involving any of the commercial motor vehicles and drivers to which the exemption applies if it is required by the laws of the province or territory in which the accident occurred to be reported to police.
     
  7. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, develop and implement a fatigue management program based on Enform’s Guide to Safe Work: Fatigue Management – An Employer’s Guide to Designing and Implementing a Fatigue Management Program.
     
  8. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, obtain from Enform or other Certifying Partner, and continue to maintain, either a valid Certificate of Recognition or a Small Employer Certificate of Recognition, as is applicable based on the number of employees in the company.
     
  9. The extra-provincial undertaking shall ensure that any National Safety Code Standard No. 15 - Facility Audit conducted with respect to their operations shall include an audit of any documentation and supporting documents for compliance with both the Regulations and the terms and conditions of this exemption.
     
  10. The extra-provincial undertaking shall have a journey management program in place whenever commercial vehicles are being operated on public highways under this exemption.
     
  11. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, provide training to management engaged or otherwise responsible for the supervision of drivers and worker safety, on the subjects of fatigue management and hours of service for commercial drivers.
     
  12. The extra-provincial undertaking shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, provide training to drivers operating under this exemption on the subjects of fatigue management, hours of service for commercial drivers, light duty vehicle driver improvement, general oilfield driver improvement and the health and safety requirements associated with the driver’s duties and responsibilities within the geophysical sector of the oil, gas and mining industry.
     
  13. All training courses provided by the extra-provincial undertaking to management or drivers must either meet minimum course requirements as established by Enform or be deemed equivalent by the hours of service director in the base jurisdiction of the extra-provincial undertaking.
     
  14. The extra-provincial undertaking shall keep at their principal place of business, a copy of the exemption, daily logs and other supporting documents that demonstrate compliance with the conditions of this exemption and shall at the request of an inspector or provincial hours of service director, immediately make available for inspection such documentation and supporting documents.
     
  15. The extra-provincial undertaking shall require every driver operating a commercial vehicle under this exemption to fill out a daily log each day that accounts for all of the driver’s on-duty time and off-duty time for that day.
     
  16. Extra-provincial undertakings operating under this exemption must adhere to all other requirements of the Regulations.
     
  17. A driver operating a commercial vehicle under this exemption shall fill out a daily log each day that accounts for all of the driver’s on-duty time and off-duty time for that day.
     
  18. The driver shall enter in the “Remarks” section of each daily log, if the exemption is being used on that day.
     
  19. The driver shall carry copies of the exemption and any acknowledgement letter received from the provincial hours of service director in the commercial motor vehicle, and shall make the documents available for inspection by an inspector, immediately upon request.
     
  20. The driver shall, prior to commencement of operations under this exemption, take training on fatigue management, hours of service for commercial drivers, light duty vehicle driver improvement, general oilfield driver improvement and the health and safety requirements associated with the driver’s duties and responsibilities within the geophysical sector of the oil, gas and mining industry.
     
  21. A driver that is released from duty to begin a period of off-duty time of 24 or more consecutive hours, shall take 8-consecutive hours off-duty time before commencing to drive from the worksite to his or her final destination of the day, unless the driver is able to complete the trip within 16-consecutive hours of elapsed time since awaking that day.
     
  22. Drivers shall take at least 4 periods of off-duty time, each at least 24 hours long, in any period of 28 days, the periods being taken consecutively or separated by on-duty time.
     
  23. Drivers must take at least 96 consecutive hours of off-duty time after ending driving under the provisions of this exemption before beginning driving under the provisions of sections 24 to 29 or 49 to 54 and the accumulation of hours under a cycle.
     
  24. Drivers operating under this exemption must adhere to all other requirements of the Regulations.
     

Validity

This exemption comes into effect upon the date that it is signed and remains valid until the earliest of the following:

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  • 18 months after the date that it comes into effect, 23:59 MST;
     
  • The date on which the exemption is cancelled in writing by the Minister where he is of the opinion that it is no longer in the public interest, or that it is likely to affect motor carrier safety.

  • Original signed on Sep. 1, 2010

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