Keeping ELD records a necessity, OOIDA says

Continental Automotive Systems began informing its more than 15,000 subscribing truck drivers in April that it is discontinuing its RoadLog line of electronic logging devices.

OOIDA said the announcement is a good time to remind truck drivers the importance of downloading the information off an ELD to keep for your records.

“You’ve got to maintain your records,” said Tom Crowley, of OOIDA’s Business Services Department. “Different entities want to audit you as a driver, and, as a motor carrier, and you’ve got to be able to provide your documentation. You’ll need to pull that information before they go out, because you’ll need it years down the road.”

Crowley told Land Line Now that having the documentation is necessary for a variety of reasons.

“For a DOT audit on hours of service, you must be able to provide the last six months upon request,” Crowley said. “They might want to do an audit based on your CSA scores. Maybe you have a couple of roadside violations, and it triggers an audit. You’ve got to be able to provide those logs. If you can’t provide them, your audit is going to go bad. You’re not going to be happy with the outcome.”

The logs also can be useful as supporting documentation for the International Fuel Tax Agreement, the International Registration Plan, and for your tax records.

“You may be keeping your IFTA on paper,” Crowley said. “You still need the logs to prove where you were as supporting documentation. You will want to keep that info for four years, because IFTA can go back four years on an audit.”

Similarly, IRP can go back five years on an audit. The logs also come in handy for those who are declaring per diem on their taxes.

Crowley advised truckers to keep their records organized and to download their logs regularly. He said he expected more ELD providers to discontinue service in the future, so truckers shouldn’t wait to get those records.

“Don’t think it’s just all there and safe,” he said.

RoadLog

The company said it will continue to provide service and technical support to existing customers through Aug. 14. In addition, Continental said it will provide customers with detailed instructions on how to download and save their user data, including hours of service and IFTA records, from their RoadLog accounts.

Continental said “unforeseen market conditions” and the “dynamic requirements” of the ELD business led to the decision.

“For the next four months ending Aug. 14, 2020, Continental will continue to provide you with access to RoadLog service for your subscribed devices and with technical support related to your devices and the service,” the company wrote in an email to its subscribers. “During such time, we will work to assist you in your transition to an alternate ELD compliance solution. Effective Aug. 14, the RoadLog Office services are hereby terminated.”

The company said in the email that it is working with KeepTruckin to provide an offer to RoadLog customers to make the transition to a new ELD provider.

“Our number one concern is that our customers have the support they need to stay in compliance with FMCSA regulations,” James Bayley, vice president of Continental Commercial Vehicles and Services, said in a news release. LL