A second look at the ELD regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants to take another look at some of the regulations in the electronic logging device mandate.

In an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that published on Sept. 16 in the Federal Register, FMCSA asked for feedback in five areas.

Specifically, the agency wants feedback in five aspects of the ELD regulation in which it is considering changes:

1. Applicability to pre-2000 engines
2. Addressing ELD malfunctions
3. The process for removing an ELD from FMCSA’s list of certified devices
4. Technical specifications
5. ELD certification

As of press time, more than 800 comments had been filed to the docket. Many of the comments came from truck drivers who want the agency to end the mandate altogether. Even more asked the agency to not end the ELD exemption for trucks with pre-2000 engines.

The ELD mandate, which requires most truckers to use an electronic device to record his or her hours of service, took effect in 2017. The mandate was unpopular for many truck drivers, who contend that tracking the time to the second causes more stress for drivers and unsafe conditions. After the mandate took effect, many truck drivers reported seeing an increase in trucks speeding through parking lots to get stopped in time and trucks parking in unsafe locations because the driver was out of time.

Application to pre-2000 engines

As part of the notice, FMCSA asked truck drivers for feedback on the original mandate’s decision to exempt trucks with pre-2000 engines.

“Should FMCSA reevaluate or modify the applicability of the current ELD regulation for rebuilt or remanufactured CMV engines or glider kits?” the agency asked.

Many truck drivers argued that the agency shouldn’t change the rules after telling them their older trucks would be grandfathered in.

“It is too late in the game and unfair now to require owners of pre-2000 engines to be mandated to use ELDs,” Daniel Cohen wrote. “FMCSA has already made enough of a mess of the ELD regulations to try to fix it.”

Addressing ELD malfunctions

The current regulation requires a driver to switch to paper logs when his or her ELD malfunctions. The driver is required to follow the motor carrier and ELD provider recommendations when a data diagnostic event is logged. Whenever an ELD fails to record the hours, the driver must have paper logs available for law enforcement. If the ELD malfunctions but still records the time accurately, a driver should not switch to paper logs.

FMCSA wants feedback on whether it should amend carrier and driver responsibilities to clarify when a driver must switch to paper logs.

Removal process

As part of the mandate, companies were allowed to self-certify their ELDs. This has led to some confusion, and the agency wants feedback on the best way to remove a provider from the certified list.

FMCSA wants feedback on the following questions:

• Should FMCSA require ELD providers to update their listing within 30 calendar days
• of any change to their registration information?
• Should ELD providers be required to confirm their information on an annual basis?
• Should an ELD provider’s ELD be removed from the FMCSA list if it fails to confirm or update its listing on an annual basis?

Technical specifications

The agency is considering adding the following data elements to every event:

• Actual odometer reading
• Shipping document number
• Actual engine hours
• Trailer number
• Location description
• Driver
• Geo-location
• Co-driver, if applicable
• Vehicle identification number
• Power unit
• Which driver was operating the commercial vehicle at the time

FMCSA said recording this information would allow the technical specifications to be modified to eliminate the requirements of providing power-up and shut-down events from vehicles a driver has previously operated that are not associated with the requested driver’s data.

ELD certification

The agency wants input on whether or not the agency should establish a certification process for ELDs.

“If a certification process is established, how should existing devices be treated?” FMCSA wrote.

Many truckers want self-certification to end.

“The agency should not only establish a certification process for ELDs, shame on you for not having them to begin with,” Thomas Oswald wrote. “Self-certify is a joke. This is a money-grabbing thing for companies to invest in.”

OOIDA’s take

Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs, said the notice opens the door to improving some aspects of the ELD mandate but noted that OOIDA opposes any efforts to end the exemption on older trucks.

“The latest notice from the agency is an opportunity to improve the technical shortcomings of the final ELD rule that have caused operational and compliance problems for thousands of drivers,” Grimes said. “Additionally, this is a chance for FMCSA to finally establish a legitimate ELD certification process so motor carriers do not have to invest extra capital constantly replacing faulty ELDs. However, the agency must not attempt to alter the current rules regarding pre-2000 engines.”

How to comment

The public has through Nov. 15 to comment on the notice. To do so, go to the Regulations.gov website and enter Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0078. LL