Legal Obligations

Owner’s obligations

 

  • Enroll in the register of owners and operators of heavy vehicles;
  • Register his vehicles;
  • Maintain vehicles in good mechanical condition;
  • Repair mechanical defects reported to him;
  • Respect the maintenance programs;
  • Keep the documents necessary to establish the vehicle file;
  • Submit his vehicles to periodic mechanical inspection;
  • Respect the authorized dimensions for vehicles;
  • Entrust his vehicles only to an operator enrolled in the register;
  • Comply with any other obligations relating to the ownership of the vehicle.


PENLESS helps you:

 

  • Document the repairs of mechanical defects that are reported to you
  • Keep the documents necessary to establish the vehicle file

The driver’s obligations

 

  • Respect the provisions of the Highway Safety Code as well as the regulations on the following subjects:
    • Driving an off-duty tme of heavy vehicle drivers;
    • Circle check inspection;
    • Load and dimension standards;
    • Securing standards;
    • Transportation of hazardous materials;
    • Special circulation permits;
    • Road traffic signs and rules.

PENLESS helps you:

 

  • The driving and off-duty time of heavy vehicle drivers
  • The circle check inspection

The obligations of the operator

 

  • Enroll in the register of owners and operators of heavy vehicles;
  • Ensure:
    • The validity of the driver’s license;
    • The skill and good behavior of the driver;
    • Vehicle’s circle check inspection;
    • Compliance with standards relating to the use of vehicles;
    • Compliance with the rules relating to the transport of persons;
    • The preservation of the documents necessary for the establishment of the driver’s file;
    • Compliance with the Regulations respecting the requirements applicable to bills of lading documents, when they apply;
    • Compliance with the Regulations respecting the requirements applicable to shipping documents, when they apply.

PENLESS helps you:

 

  • Make sure the vehicle’s circle check inspection is completed
  • Ensure that the documents necessary for establishing the driver’s file are kept

Issues related to circle check inspections

Vehicles subject to a circle check inspection

  • Road vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,500 kg or more;
  • Group of road vehicles of which at least one of the vehicles has a GVWR of 4,500 kg or more. For example:
    • Pick-up type truck with a GVWR of less than 4,500 kg hitched to a semi-trailer with a GVWR of 4,500 kg or more;
    • Pick-up type truck with a GVWR of 4,500 kg or more hitched to a semi-trailer with a GVWR of less than 4,500 kg;
    • Pick-up type truck with a GVWR of 4,500 kg or more hitched to a semi-trailer with a GVWR of 4,500 kg or more (each of the vehicles in the set has a GVWR of 4,500 kg or more).
  • Buses, minibuses and tow trucks (regardless of their GVWR);
  • Road vehicles with a GVWR of less than 4,500 kg transporting dangerous materials requiring the application of safety marks.

 

Vehicles exempt from a circle check inspection

 

  • Tool vehicles (graders, loaders, back hoes);
  • Heavy vehicles required by an emergency service or in the event of a disaster;
  • Farm tractors;
  • Farm machinery (e.g. combine-harvesters);
  • Farm trailers (e.g. a hay trailer owned by a farmer and used for farming purposes);
  • Heavy vehicles used by a natural person for personal ends;
  • Straight-body trucks with two or three axles used to:
    • Transport unprocessed farm, forest or fishery products, provided the driver is also the producer
    • Make the return trip, provided the truck is either empty or used to transport products mainly used in the operation of a farm, forest or fishery.

PENLESS ROAD SAFETY offers a simple, swift and powerful paperless, PENLESS and painless solution for operators of heavy vehicles subject to daily circle check inspections.

Circle check inspection requirements
  • Availability of a valid circle check inspection (less than 24 hours), up to date and readable at all times in the vehicle;
  • Possibility of sharing the circle check inspection from the vehicle at all times;
  • Availability of the list of defects (codes and descriptions) in the vehicle at all times;
  • Possibility of accepting (or refusing) a valid circle check inspection made by a designated person or by the previous driver;
  • Transmission of the circle check inspection to the operator no later than 20 days after its expiry;
  • Ability to add operator-specific verifications;
  • Verification and correction of defects reported on circle check inspections no later than 48 hours after their expiration;
  • Sharing of defects with the vehicle owner within 48 hours, if applicable;
  • Recording of the corrections made;
  • Integrity of odometer readings;
  • Sharing of all circle check inspections with the vehicle owner, if applicable, every 30 days;
  • Preservation of circle check inspections for a period of 6 months;
  • Preservation of circle check inspections that required repair for a period of 1 year;
  • Sharing, as needed, circle check inspections with the SAAQ.

 

With PENLESS, face these challenges in a fully automated way, paperless, PENLESS and painless!

Examples of fines
  • No circle check inspection: $350 to $1,050
  • Not doing the circle check inspection according to the standards: $350 to $1,050
  • Allowing a heavy vehicle to be driven without the circle check inspection having been carried out: $700 to $2,100
  • Letting a heavy vehicle be driven without the circle check inspection being on board: $700 to $2,100
Useful links

Issues related to driving and off-duty time registers

Last 14 days

  • Regardless of the cycle, the driver must have taken at least 24 consecutive hours of rest during the last 14 days.

 

Cycle 1 (7 days)

  • Prohibited from driving after having accumulated 70 hours of work during a period of 7 consecutive days.

 

Cycle 2 (14 days)

  • Prohibited from driving after having accumulated 120 hours of work during a period of 14 consecutive days;
  • Prohibition of driving after having accumulated 70 hours of work without having taken 24 consecutive hours of rest.

 

Change of cycle (reset)

  • Cycle 1: take at least 36 consecutive hours of rest;
  • Cycle 2: take at least 72 consecutive hours of rest.

 

Work shift:

  • Period between two periods of at least 8 consecutive hours of rest
  • Prohibition of driving if since the start of the shift:
    • 13 hours of driving have been accumulated;
    • 14 hours of work have accumulated;
    • 16 hours have passed.

Day:

  • 24-hour period beginning at the time designated by the operator;
  • The driver must take at least 10 hours of rest during a day:
    • At least 2 of these hours must not be part of the 8 consecutive hours of rest;
    • These 2 hours can be divided into breaks of a minimum duration of 30 minutes each.
  • Driving prohibited if, since the beginning of the day:
    • 13 hours of driving have been accumulated;
    • 14 hours of work have accumulated.

 

Combination of shift and day requirements:

 

 

  • The start time of the day remains the same throughout the cycle;
  • Shift start times may vary.

PENLESS ROAD SAFETY offers a simple, swift and powerful paperless, PENLESS and painless solution to heavy vehicle operators and drivers meeting the conditions for not having to complete the daily log.

DETAILED register’s terms of use
  • Traffic within a radius of 160 km from the home terminal;
  • Return to the home terminal each day to begin a period of at least 8 consecutive off-duty hours;
  • The vehicle being driven is not covered by a permit to derogate from the driving and off-duty time.
Additional terms of use for the SHORTENED register
  • The shift begins and ends on the same day;
  • The duration of the shift is 13 hours or less;
  • The duration of the off-duty period before and after the shift is at least 11 consecutive hours.
Content of detailed registers for each day
  • Activities carried out by the driver (driving, on-duty, off-duty);
  • The cycle followed;
  • The start and end time of each activity as well as the total hours devoted to each of them;
  • The reasons, if any, for overtime or postponement of off-duty time.

 

With PENLESS, face these challenges in a fully automated way, paperless, PENLESS and painless!

Content of shortened registers for each day

If the following additional conditions are met (permitted in Quebec only):

  • The date and start time of the day (if it is not midnight);
  • The cycle followed;
  • The start and end time of the shift as well as the total number of on-duty hours (driving and non-driving work) during the day;
  • Les raisons, le cas échéant, d’un dépassement d’heure ou d’un report d’heures de repos.

 

With PENLESS, face these challenges in a fully automated way, paperless, PENLESS and painless!

Documents to keep on board the vehicle
  • A copy of the daily logs for the previous 14 days;
  • A copy of the detailed or shortened registers for the previous 14 days;
  • A copy of the detailed or shortened register for the current day, completed up to the time of the last change in activity;
  • The form for the current day, completed up to the time of the last change of activity.

 

With PENLESS, face these challenges in a fully automated way, paperless, PENLESS and painless!

Transmission, storage and sharing of documents
  • Transmission of driving and off-duty time records and circle check inspections by the driver to the operator within 20 days;
  • Deposit/storage by the operator at his establishment within 30 days of receipt;
  • Retention of records of hours of driving and off-duty time records and circle check inspections for a period of 6 months;
  • Retention of proof of correction of defects for a period of 12 months;
  • Sharing, as needed, driving and off-duty time records and circle check inspections with the SAAQ.

 

With PENLESS, face these challenges in a fully automated way, paperless, PENLESS and painless!

Examples of fines
  • Failing to keep his file or not entering all the information: $350 to $1,050
  • Failure to respect driving, off-duty or on-duty hours: $350 to $1,050
  • Not ensuring that the driver fills out his form: $700 to $2,100
  • Failure to ensure compliance with driving hours: $700 to $2,100
Useful links