Deadline draws near for comments on SikhsPAC ELD exemption request

One week remains to file comments on an exemption to the electronic logging device mandate for Sikh truckers who haul agricultural commodities.

The exemption request was filed by SikhsPAC – a political action committee representing American Sikhs – and the North American Punjabiz Trucker Association. The exemption applies to members of those groups who haul fresh produce and have small trucking businesses.

The deadline to file comments is 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 26.

Click here to comment on the request.
Click here to view the docket information.

In November, Sikh truckers joined a growing list of industry groups filing for exemptions from the ELD mandate. In a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, the groups asked for a one-year delay on enforcement in addition to a waiver and exemption.

FMCSA’s notice acknowledges the other requests made by the groups and states that those issues are being addressed through a separate process.

Among the concerns raised by the groups in their letter are a lack of available ELD devices on the market that are able to factor in existing hours of service exemptions used by produce haulers, and questions of reliability of certain app-based ELDs to properly function in rural areas with limited or no broadband internet connectivity.

“The current ELD retail marketplace does not accommodate the needs of our impacted industry segment,” the group stated in its petition. “The devices are not able to factor in existing HOS exemptions currently being utilized by fresh produce haulers and the SikhsPAC small truckers who are members of the other impacted industry sectors.”

The petition also raises issue with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s decision to let ELD device manufacturers self-certify compliance with the mandate and whether or not devices would be fully functional in rural areas that lack broadband internet.