The ELD Mandate involves the use of ELDs by commercial drivers who take record of their hours-of-service (HOS) registers. Formerly, it was recorded in paper logbooks, but now, ELDs electronically record driver information spontaneously, including location information, engine hours, vehicle miles, HOS, and identification.
By now, all drivers must have heard about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Rule. The regulation is proposed to increase work safety for drivers and systematize the course of tracking, managing, and sharing driver duty status registers. For every of the FMCSA, the ELD Rule relates to most motor carriers (as well as the commercial buses and trucks) drivers who are expected to keep records of their duty status. An ELD mechanically records driving times and other Hours-of- Service (HOS) data. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) execution time is fast approaching. Commencing December 18th the FMCSA’s Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate will entail most regional carriers to use ELDs as a substitute to paper log books.
The FMCSA evaluates that over 3 million trucks and over 3 million drivers will be pretentious by the new ELD rules. Generally, the rules relate to most of the trucks in regional side weighing more than 10,001 pounds, vehicles designed to transport more than 8 passengers for payment to the driver, vehicles designed to transport more than 15 passengers and finally vehicles used to haul menace materials in quantities that require placarding by the DOT.
After numerous years of discussions and reviews, the Final ELD Rule was issued in December 2016 and the required ELD Compliance date is December 18, 2017. The FMCSA contemplates that the year between the publishing of the final rule and the compliance date is an awareness and evolution stage, with many haulers willingly installing ELDs. By December 18, 2017, ELD use will be obligatory, with the requirement that companies with vehicles using legacy Automatic On-Board Recording Devices (AOBRDs) will have a 2-year period before they are mandatory to transition the compliant ELDs in December 2019.
Reflecting on how many of the carrier associates presently using ELDs vs individuals that don’t. Installing an operational ELD system through a convoy is no small task because it requires more interval and significant investment up front. Furthermore, this will likely cause a dip in efficiency as these carriers learn how to efficiently control with severe devotion to the hours of service rules that using ELDs will require.
The future is now for the trucking industry, and transporters can’t wait much longer to bring their trucks and drivers into acquiescence with the ELD mandate. The significances for overseeing the deadline for acquiescence may be niggling at best and overwhelming at worst for carriers. It’s in a trucking company’s best awareness to make sure that everything is taken care of prior to the deadline.