OTTAWA, Ont. – The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is proposing a timeline of “graduated education” to help carriers and drivers prepare for mandated electronic logging devices (ELDs).

While the timeline for a mandate has yet been set, since federal rules are still in a proposed form, the alliance has been calling for federal and provincial governments to require the devices by the end of 2019.

The request for the education period has been submitted to the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance region covering Canada.

The education could begin with this year’s Roadcheck inspection blitz, by distributing pamphlets that explain ELDs, the CTA suggests, referring to the June 5-7 event.

“Roadcheck’s focus this year is on hours of service compliance so we believe this is a good fit to start the educational piece on ELDs in the Canadian jurisdictions,” explained Geoff Wood, CTA’s senior vice-president of policy.

The alliance is then suggesting that similar messages be sent to fleets by the third quarter of 2018 as part of International Registration Plan (IRP) and International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) renewal packages. By the end of the first quarter of 2019, it is asking enforcement teams to document if drivers have an electronic recording device or ELD, and by the second quarter it hopes to see official warnings issued about the pending mandate.

“Doing nothing on education and awareness shouldn’t be an option,” Wood says.

The nation’s largest trucking association says it is also looking to avoid the repeated delays and “ad-hoc exemption waivers” experienced in the U.S. after a mandate was introduced last December.