Hours-of-Service fines ‘quick and effective penalties’, Alghabra says
New fines for Hours-of-Service violations will lead to “swift enforcement” of related rules and ease the strain on the justice system, Transport Canada says.
Recently announced changes to Contraventions Regulations add to federal penalties that were already in place but limited to warnings or court proceedings.
“Issuing contravention tickets provides a new tool for authorities to use, however they do not replace the court process,” the regulator said in a July 10 statement. “This remains available to prosecute offenders of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations.”
Enforcement officers who were interviewed during a 2017 evaluation of the Contraventions Act Program said that, in the absence of a ticketing regime, the would routinely choose not to enforce many offences, or opt for warnings that have no legal strength, according to a regulatory impact analysis.
“The summary conviction procedure is inadequate in many scenarios involving relatively minor federal offences, as it involves steps, costs and consequences that may be disproportionate to the nature of these offences,” it said.
Pre-set Hours-of-Service fines are grouped into minor, moderate, and severe categories. Minor infractions include fines of up to $600, while severe infractions include fines as high as $2,000.
“Going through the court process for violations of the Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations can tie up the justice system and take time. By allowing enforcement authorities to directly fine violators, we’re giving them new tools to deliver quick and effective penalties,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said.
“The issuance of tickets – when stacked with our new measures on electronic logging devices – are helping to improve commercial vehicle safety for all Canadians.”
A federal mandate for electronic logging devices has been enforced since Jan. 1.
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Higher fines?
Or, just another revenue stream.
Or, perhaps both, for enforcement and more money collected.
Yes, that’s it!!!
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Every ticket that is written against a man or woman, (for log books or anything else), a security is created and it’s traded in the bond market of the next 30-50 years. This security is written without an underwriter, (you showing up in court), that is fraud of a trust.
How do you think the courts stay afloat? They don’t make enough on a daily basis with the fines alone, that in and of itself, wouldn’t pay the judges wages, never mind the clerks and everyone else.
Every court is a for profit corporation.
Everyone needs to do a little homework.
Can’t think of many jobs where you go to work and could conceivably give up your entire paycheque for a fine and have nothing left to pay bills, buy groceries.
Imagine if that was applied across the board to every job?
Transportation minister, Omar needs to go. He has never driven truck in his life and does not know what the trucking industry is about. Just a complete idiot just like his boss, Justin Trudeau. Wait and see in a couple more years the Trucking industry will really be short of drivers. The more they micromanage the trucking industry the less drivers there will be. I’m glad I’m done with the Trucking industry. Yes, and it is so true you get one fine and there goes your paycheck. Cannot even feed your family for that month.
Need to merge the usa hours of service with canadian hours, get rid of the 24 hr every 14days.
These hours need to be revamped