# Ruleset Switcher: Changing Hours-of-Service Rules in Geotab Drive When the Truck Crosses the Border

A Quebec driver runs under Canadian cycle rules until the Champlain crossing, then under US 70-hour rules, then back. A Texas driver goes from the oilfield exemption to interstate rules and back in a week. Ruleset Switcher lets the driver change the hours-of-service ruleset in Geotab Drive, within the set the fleet allows, so the log is right on both sides.

Source: https://www.highpointgps.com/resources/ruleset-switcher-hos-geotab-drive
By Israel Margulies, CEO & Founder — published 2026-09-18, updated 2026-09-18

## One Driver, Several Rulesets

Hours-of-service rules are not one thing. A cross-border driver is under the Canadian federal rules — cycle 1 or cycle 2, the 13-hour driving limit, the deferral — until the border, and under the US rules — 11 hours driving, 14-hour window, 70-hour cycle — after it. Within the US, oilfield, short-haul, agricultural and adverse-conditions provisions change the limits for particular trips. An ELD applies one ruleset at a time, and a driver logged under the wrong one is out of compliance even with the hours to spare.

## What the Add-In Does

Ruleset Switcher gives the driver a control in Geotab Drive to change the active ruleset, from a list the fleet defines. The administrator decides which rulesets each driver or group may use — a cross-border group gets Canadian and US federal; an oilfield group gets the exemption and standard; a local group gets only its own — and the driver picks the right one when the operation changes, with the change and its time recorded in the log. The fleet keeps control over what is allowed; the driver keeps the ability to be compliant without calling the office.

## Where It Matters

Every Quebec and Ontario carrier running into the US, and every northeastern US carrier running into Canada: the switch at the border is a daily event. Fleets using exemptions that apply trip by trip. Fleets whose drivers split time between regulated and exempt work. Fleets that have been cited for a driver logged under the wrong ruleset, which is a common finding at both Canadian and US inspections.

## Setup

Installed into the fleet's MyGeotab database; the allowed rulesets are assigned per driver or group, and the switch appears in Drive. High Point GPS configures Ruleset Switcher with the cross-border rulesets for carriers in Quebec, Ontario and the northeastern US as part of ELD deployment.

## FAQ

### What is Ruleset Switcher?

A Geotab Drive add-in that lets a driver change the active hours-of-service ruleset from a list the fleet allows, with the change recorded in the log.

### Can a driver pick any ruleset?

No. The administrator assigns which rulesets each driver or group may use.

### Is the switch recorded?

Yes. The ruleset change and its time are part of the ELD record.

### Which fleets need it?

Cross-border carriers switching between Canadian and US rules, and fleets using exemptions that apply trip by trip.

### Does it change the driver's available hours?

Yes. The available hours are recalculated under the new ruleset from the driver's history.

## Sources

- [FMCSA: Hours of Service](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-service)
- [Transport Canada: Hours of Service](https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/commercial-vehicle-drivers-hours-service)