Mounting Concerns Over ELD Manipulation Spur Industry Demands for Reform

Calls grow louder to reform ELD self-certification as manipulation tactics raise safety, fraud, and compliance concerns across the trucking industry.

Jerome Washington

Trucking professionals are sounding alarms over rising cases of electronic logging device (ELD) manipulation, a threat to safety, fair competition, and regulatory compliance.
A growing chorus of drivers, safety advocates, and logistics professionals are calling for urgent reforms to the FMCSA’s ELD certification process, warning that the current self-certification system leaves too much room for abuse.

The issue gained renewed attention after a fatal crash in Texas in which a truck driver reportedly fell asleep after exceeding hours-of-service (HOS) limits — a tragedy some say reflects a broader failure of the ELD system to ensure compliance.

“It’s Broken”: Industry Voices Speak Out

Adam Wingfield recently posted on his LinkedIn about a company openly advertising “ELD editing” services, helping carriers erase violations and fabricate legal driving hours. This practice is openly advertised and often enabled by foreign-made ELDs with backdoor access that allow post-facto edits with no audit trail.

“I’ve had carriers tell me flat out their ELD rep showed them how to ‘make it disappear’ after a log ran long.”
— Adam Wingfield, via LinkedIn

Wingfield’s post follows reports that the driver involved in the deadly Texas crash had exceeded legal HOS limits and admitted to falling asleep at the wheel, a tragic reminder of the life-and-death consequences of lax compliance.

A Self-Certified System With No Teeth

ELD providers in the U.S. currently self-certify with FMCSA, meaning they simply declare that their devices meet technical requirements.

Critics argue that this model lacks third-party validation, allowing unscrupulous companies to produce devices that enable fraudulent edits and dangerous driving behavior.

“They simply ‘declare’ they follow the rules. Do they? Probably not.”
— Danielle Chaffin, via X

Because high-integrity platforms like Samsara and Motive don’t allow such manipulation, some carriers avoid them to maintain operational practices that would otherwise result in violations, or worse.

More Than Just Logs: Implications for Fraud and Security

Trucking analyst @HUNTSMAN compared ELD tampering to AIS spoofing in maritime logistics, a technique used to hide vessel movement, often linked to smuggling or illegal activity.

This analogy highlights the bigger risks of ELD log tampering, which may:

• Obscure routes to hide illicit cargo
• Facilitate rate fraudor ghost co-driver schemes
• Enable money launderingthrough manipulated delivery data
• Undermine insurance validityin the event of a crash

Enforcement Lag: Honest Carriers at a Disadvantage

Clean-operating carriers, those following FMCSA HOS rules with legitimate ELDs, face tighter margins and reduced competitiveness. They struggle to match rates offered by non-compliant operators willing to falsify logs and stretch driving hours.

“The ones trying to run a clean operation are the ones paying the price.”
— Adam Wingfield

Without federal enforcement or technical audits of ELD software, manipulative providers remain on the market, undercutting both safety and fair play.

Industry Demands: What Needs to Change

A growing segment of the logistics industry is demanding:

• Third-party certification of ELD devices, not self-attestation
• Audit trailsfor all log edits, with clear driver identification
• Immediate disqualificationof ELD vendors found to enable fraud
• Greater FMCSA oversightof foreign-developed logging systems

Ghosts in the Machine

Scopelitis

Since the mandated implementation of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) in December 2019, the trucking industry has largely – sometimes begrudgingly – accepted them and their role in managing Hours of Service (HOS) regulations.  However, despite their intended use in preventing driver fatigue, a disturbing trend is emerging: the rise of “ghost” ELDs. These are falsified or tampered-with devices that undermine the very purpose of ELDs, posing significant safety and regulatory challenges.

What Are “Ghost” ELDs?

A “ghost” ELD refers to an electronic logging device that either falsifies data or is intentionally manipulated to create false logs. ELDs are required to accurately record driving time, rest periods, engine data, and driver activity. But with ghost ELDs, the data is either tampered with to show compliance when the driver is in violation, or the device itself is not connected to the engine as required. This creates the illusion of legal operation while allowing drivers or companies to bypass regulations.

Why Are They a Problem?

1. Undermining Safety Regulations: The primary reason for the ELD mandate is to ensure drivers don’t work excessive hours, which could lead to fatigue, a factor in many accidents. When ghost ELDs are used, drivers can exceed their allowed hours without detection, putting themselves and others at risk. Fatigued driving significantly increases the likelihood of crashes, injuries, and fatalities. In this sense, ghost ELDs defeat the purpose of HOS regulations meant to protect public safety.
2. Unfair Competition: Companies that comply with ELD regulations have to carefully manage driver hours and face the operational costs of keeping drivers within legal limits. However, those using ghost ELDs gain an unfair advantage by allowing drivers to work longer and cover more miles, which translates to lower costs and faster deliveries. This creates a distorted playing field where honest companies face a disadvantage while unscrupulous operators exploit the system.
3. Legal and Financial Risks: Tampering with or falsifying ELD data is illegal and can lead to severe consequences for both drivers and carriers. Fines for violating ELD regulations can be steep, and companies caught using ghost ELDs risk even higher penalties. Moreover, in the event of an accident, falsified logs could expose companies and drivers to lawsuits, insurance complications, and potential criminal charges. Ghost ELDs can result in substantial financial losses due to fines, legal fees, and reputational damage.
4. Eroding Trust in the System: The effectiveness of the ELD mandate relies on the assumption that the technology is accurately capturing driver activity and enforcing compliance. Widespread use of ghost ELDs threatens to erode trust in the system, not only among regulators but also within the industry itself. If ghost ELDs become more common, the integrity of the entire regulatory framework could be called into question, potentially leading to stricter enforcement measures and scrutiny.

Addressing the Issue

FMCSA appears to be poised to attempt to tackle the problem of ghost ELDs.  Presently, the Agency relies on “self-certification” – basically the honor system for providers and carriers. (Canada, by contrast, requires ELD providers to be certified by an independent third party, offering a layer of security in their specifications.)  In September 2022, however, FMCSA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) requesting comments on a handful of ELD issues, including the question of whether a certification process should be established.  According to the Spring 2024 Unified Agenda, the next step in the regulation-making process – a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) – is scheduled to be released in June 2025.

Industry awareness and training can also help curb the use of ghost ELDs. Drivers and companies need to understand the serious risks associated with non-compliance and be educated on how to properly and legally use ELDs.

As technology continues to evolve, it is crucial for the industry to prioritize compliance and integrity, ensuring that ELDs serve their intended purpose of improving safety and transparency in the trucking industry.

CVSA, States Eye Crackdown on New ELD Tampering Trend

Entire Electronic Driving Files Modified to Disguise Rest, Drive Times

Noel Fletcher

Roadside inspectors are considering a new out-of-service rule to combat a growing trend to tamper with electronic logging devices by falsifying a commercial driver’s rest and driving times.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance revealed in recent months that inspectors in many states are reporting new ELD falsification methods by either drivers, carriers or other third parties that are making it difficult for roadside safety inspectors to identify when driving and rest breaks occurred.

“The falsifications are often many hours or days off from what actually occurred. For example, a fuel receipt and bill of lading may say the driver was in Fargo, N.D., on Jan. 1 at 11 a.m., but the record of duty status shows the driver picked up in Fargo on Dec. 30 and was in Santa Fe, N.M., on Jan. 1,” revealed Jeremy Disbrow, CVSA roadside inspection specialist.

“The inspector can prove the ROD is false but cannot determine when the driver was actually driving or resting because the entire record is inaccurate,” he added. “Many of these ELDs are not showing any indication they were edited, which is required by federal regulations. As inspectors are learning of this tactic, they are discovering these types of falsifications on a regular basis.”

Some drivers falsify records to conceal hours and extend driving time limits. “These falsifications may result in fatigue or delayed driver reaction times, which significantly increases the risk of a collision,” he said. “A fatigued driver of a vehicle weighing 80,000 pounds is an imminent hazard to everyone sharing the road around that vehicle.”

Disbrow said previous falsifications generally were created by either claiming an incorrect duty status (driving or fueling while off duty), incorrectly applying an exception (personal conveyance, adverse driving) or using multiple logbooks or nonexistent co-drivers. Inspectors were able to determine when a driver was actually resting or driving by comparing supporting documents to the record of duty status.

“The current OOSC [out-of-service criteria] requires an inspector to prove the falsification concealed the driver being over the 11/14/60 or 70-hour rules at the time of the inspection,” he explained. “An inspector can only determine if the driver was over hours at the time of inspection if they can determine when the rest breaks and driving occurred.”

The current OOSC cannot be applied in ELD tampering because the entire electronic file has been modified. CVSA aims to keep the current language for traditional falsifications and add another OOSC for ELD tampering when an inspector is unable to determine driving/resting times.

CVSA has drafted an inspection bulletin with the new OOSC violation that must be approved this fall. It will require a driver to be prohibited from driving for 10 consecutive hours to ensure adequate rest before resuming the trip.

Oregon has been consistently catching truckers with these new falsified ELDs during inspections after the truckers drove past weigh stations and were turned around by law enforcement officers. Many commercial vehicles driving through Oregon are heading into or out of Idaho and California.

Carla Phelps, interim division commerce and compliance administrator in the Oregon Department of Transportation, told Transport Topics that inspectors are finding in ELDs “manipulation of data, data sent out of country and being manipulated or showing different drivers who are not driving. Individuals in Middle Eastern countries are manipulating data.”

From April to late May, ODOT and law enforcement conducted an operation to nab truckers for illegally bypassing an open weigh station. Tickets were issued to 122 drivers, with 25% placed out of service for regulatory and safety violations.

“Inspectors discovered false logs and multiple electronic logging devices that had been tampered with and were producing fictional logs,” ODOT stated. “Commercial truck drivers use logs to record their daily activities, specifically their time spent driving, on duty, off duty and in sleeper cabs. Driver logs are crucial for ensuring compliance with federal hours-of-service regulations, which limit how long drivers can work without taking breaks.”

Oregon officials conducted an earlier weigh station operation March 3-7. Of the 464 commercial vehicles inspected, 23% were placed out of service. Inspectors found evidence of 65 truckers with ELD/logs that were altered and scrubbed.

Kenneth Oke, ODOT commerce and compliance division safety coordinator, said some tampering may delete a couple of days so inspectors at first will see hours available when they are not. Now electronic file records are being checked “against hard data points, scale crossings, fuel receipts, bills of lading, repair receipts,” he added.

Washington law enforcement officers also are seeing this new tampering trend.

“We are experiencing the same logbook violations reported in Oregon. However, our tracking system doesn’t track the type of logbook violations, just that they occurred,” said Sgt. Jermaine Walker, Washington State Patrol spokesperson. “So, we are unable to provide any direct numbers for these falsifications. With every change or advancement in technology, there must also be advancements in investigatory systems. Our team is working with our partners in the CVSA on strategies to counter these types of violations.”