U.S. reps support proposed ELD exemption for small business truckers

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association had requested the exemption from the electronic logging device mandate for small trucking businesses with “exemplary” safety records back in November.    Twenty-five members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter last Thursday to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in support of an exemption from the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate for small trucking businesses with “exemplary” safety records.
   The exemption request had been submitted by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) on Nov. 21, 2017.
   In its request, OOIDA called for at least a five-year exemption for motor carriers that are classified as small businesses by the Small Business Administration and have a proven safety history with no attributable at-fault crashes, as well as no “unsatisfactory” carrier safety rating.
   OOIDA expressed cybersecurity concerns with ELDs in its request, in addition to pointing out how the FMCSA has continually stated that it does not know if the self-certified ELD’s fulfill the regulatory requirements.
   In last week’s letter, the Congress members said, “By sustaining impeccable safety records, the motor carriers that would qualify have already demonstrated the use of an ELD will do nothing to improve their operations.
   “Furthermore, OOIDA’s request would prevent small trucking businesses, who operate on the slimmest of margins, from maintaining costly fleet management devices that provide them no economic or productivity benefits,” the letter added.
   “A five-year exemption would provide necessary time for ELD manufacturers to be fully vetted by the agency, which would alleviate small-business motor carriers from learning that they purchased a device that could damage their vehicles electronic control module or be hacked,” OOIDA said in a November press release.