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FMCSA Issues Two ELD Exemptions

Having decided to grant part of a United Parcel Service request for a limited 5-year exemption from some provisions of the electronic logging device mandate, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will now allow all motor carriers—not just UPS– and drivers to make use of two new temporary exemptions from the ELD rule.

Source: FMCSA Issues Two Commonsensical ELD Exemptions

ELD citations, fines begin Dec. 18, but inspectors won’t enforce OOS criteria until April

James Jaillet  August 28, 2017

Inspectors will, at their discretion, begin issuing citations for non-compliance with the federal electronic logging device mandate on the Dec. 18 deadline for adoption, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced Monday. However, the 10-hour out-of-service order associated with non-compliance with the mandate will begin April 1, 2018, CVSA also announced.

CVSA, which is made up of enforcement officials and meant to provide uniformity in enforcement of trucking and bus regulations, says it has notified FMCSA of its plan to begin citation enforcement Dec. 18 and out-of-service enforcement in April.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration confirmed CVSA’s enforcement plans. FMCSA also confirmed that the delay in out-of-service enforcement does not affect the the date by which truckers must adopt an automatic onboard recording device (AOBRD — a form of electronic logging system with more limited functionality than an ELD) if they want to extend their ELD compliance to December 2019.

“After Dec. 18, 2017, if you don’t have an AOBRD or ELD the violation will be cited, and a driver could be fined, but they won’t be put out of service. Companies that continually violate the rule could be subject to federal investigation as well,” says FMCSA spokesperson Duane DeBruyne.

The slight delay in the enforcement of the out-of-service criteria “will provide the motor carrier industry, shippers and roadside enforcement community with time to adjust to the new requirement before vehicles are placed out of service for ELD violations,” CVSA said in its announcement. This strategy is in line with how CVSA has handled enforcement of other major trucking regulations, the group said.

Inspectors and roadside officers will begin documenting ELD violations on the Dec. 18 deadline, and citations will be issued to drivers “at the jurisdiction’s discretion,” CVSA says.

Violations related to ELDs will, in a way, be considered hours of service violations for purposes of the out of service criteria. Various ELD-related violations will ultimately come with the out-of-service equivalent of not having a logbook, having false logs and not maintaining previous seven days of duty status. For instance, a driver or carrier not using a logging device that fits with federal requirements will be “considered to have no record of duty status,” according to updated out-of-service criteria issued by CVSA earlier this year.

Read more on the out-of-service details at this link.

The Monday announcement confirms what two FMCSA representatives hinted at last week in a special ELD seminar held at the Great American Trucking Show.

Asked by an audience member about rumors of “soft enforcement” of the ELD mandate December deadline during the Thursday, Aug. 24, session, FMCSA representatives would say only that officers “may or may not” take enforcement action against drivers not utilizing ELDs. CVSA’s slight delay in the out of service criteria related to ELDs answers the trucker’s question, in part, delaying the perhaps most severe enforcement action that could be brought.

Reports have indicated CVSA’s approach will be “phased-in” enforcement, but the CVSA noted it will begin enforcement of the ELD mandate on the Dec. 18 compliance date.

Five Steps for Less Stressful Roadside Inspections with ELDs

With the many models of ELDs and AOBRDs in use today, along with varying levels of inspector and driver knowledge of those systems, getting your drivers ready for roadside inspections with ELDs is more critical than ever. Preparing your drivers ahead of time will greatly reduce their stress. And the better prepared the driver, the quicker the inspection will be, which will reflect well on your company and leave a good impression with inspectors. Electronic logs have been in use for years, so you can’t expect “soft enforcement” on hours-of-service violations, as limits’ regulations have not changed. Below we list five steps you can take to prepare your drivers for a new way of communicating their hours to inspection personnel:

  1. Train your drivers thoroughly on how to transfer hours’ data via both options within the local or telematic method (whichever method is used by your ELD). Officers will not want to handle cell phones or tablets to avoid any perception of impropriety or accidental breakage. Role play the inspection process with your drivers until they are comfortable navigating within the ELD application. Choosing a driver-friendly ELD will make the system easier to learn and give your drivers more confidence during an inspection. (AOBRDs do not need to transfer data, only display data.)
  2. Train thoroughly on how to display or print hours data. If the data transfer doesn’t work or is extremely slow, the driver must know how to print data or get the ELD in “inspection mode” to display the hours of the current day and prior seven days. To avoid a violation, the display must be capable of review without the officer entering the cab.
  3. Train and verify the drivers’ understanding of identifying and correcting basic malfunctions and resolving data inconsistencies. The ELD manual, malfunction and data transfer procedure instructions, and 8 days of blank logs must have readily available to show the officer. If you have upgraded from an AOBRD to an ELD recently, verify that the documentation is for the ELD, not the AOBRD.
  4. Train drivers on the proper use of the “Personal Use” and “Yard Move” options. “Personal Use” is not to be used to reposition a truck after running out of hours. Duty status locations won’t match, causing enforcement to scrutinize these moves. Have a clear policy on when this option can be used and make sure that drivers understand it.“Personal Use” is covered only in DOT Interpretation number 26 in §395.8 and allows moves from the terminal to home and back to the terminal, and from enroute lodging to personal destinations only when unladen. The “Yard Move” option can only be used on property that cannot be deemed a highway. Private property can be a “highway” (see §390.5) unless it is gated or signed prohibiting public access.
  5. Drivers and operations personnel should understand the ELD-related violations that can result in an Out-of-Service Order. Covering these violations should be part of your ELD training and will help drivers understand their responsibilities under the ELD mandate. Here’s a few examples:
    1. Using an ELD that is not on the registry, a device that an officer believes is noncompliant, or not using an ELD or AOBRD at all when required. An officer will report a potentially non-compliant device to the FMCSA for possible decertification.
    2. Drivers unable to produce, display, or transfer the required hours, which includes after a malfunction, not having reconstructed logs of the current day, and not having printed copies of the prior seven days’ logs.
    3. Carrier hasn’t repaired or replaced the ELD within 8 days of a malfunction and doesn’t have an extension from the FMCSA.
    4. Creating a false log. Drivers that have not appropriately logged into a device may be cited for intentional falsification. Other common ways to falsify logs are logging out and driving when out of hours or not logging into the ELD to avoid starting their clock.

Above all, coach your drivers to remain calm and be patient. Remind them that for the first few months of the mandate, enforcement officers are also learning, and they have more than one ELD system to deal with. It goes without saying but I’ll say it again, drivers should never argue with the officer. Rather, they should ask the officer to show them or tell them the exact nature of the violation and include a regulation citation, if possible.