Final ELD deadline looms just a week away

Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, motor carriers and drivers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s electronic logging device mandate must use ELDs to record drivers’ hours of service.

Once the final deadline has passed, roadside inspection officers will no longer accept grandfathered automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDs) in place of ELDs. Motor carriers are strongly encouraged to verify compliance with the ELD final rule by ensuring their fleet’s ELDs meet minimum technical qualifications outlined in 49 CFR 395 Subpart B.

In broad terms, ELDs should be able to:

• Record any unidentified driving time and display that data to the driver, fleet manager, or DOT enforcement officer;
• Switch to a driving status at or above five MPH;
• Auto-generate changes in duty status that cannot be edited;
• Require annotation for edited entries; and
• Transfer output files using either Telematics method (via wireless web services and email) OR local transfer method (via USB 2.0 and Bluetooth).

A list of self-certified ELD manufacturers can be found on FMCSA’s website.

FMCSA implemented the ELD rule to increase the ease and accuracy of recordkeeping. The ELD rule does not change underlying hours-of-service requirements. Drivers who are exempt from the record of duty status requirements will continue to be exempt from the ELD final rule. Motor carriers operating in Canada will be required to comply with the Canadian ELD requirements once they become effective in 2021.

Please contact ATA’s Tim Frazier at 334-834-3983 for more information.