FMCSA to require electronic logging devices for all commercial trucks

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the adoption of a final rule requiring the use of ELDs across the trucking and bus industries.    The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration today announced the adoption of a final rule requiring the use of electronic logging devices for all commercial trucks and buses.
   ELDs automatically record driving time, engine hours, vehicle movement, miles driven, and location information. 
   The final rule will “improve roadway safety by employing technology to strengthen commercial truck and bus drivers’ compliance with hours-of-service regulations that prevent fatigue,” according to a statement from the FMSCA.
   Federal safety regulations limit the number of hours commercial drivers can be on-duty and still drive, as well as the number of hours spent driving. These limitations are designed to prevent truck and bus drivers from becoming fatigued while driving and require that drivers take breaks and have a sufficient rest before returning to work.
   The ELD Final Rule requires commercial truck and bus drivers who currently use paper log books to maintain hours-of-service records – an estimated three million drivers – to convert to ELDs within two years. The final rule also strictly prohibits “commercial driver harassment,” sets technology specifications for the performance and design requirements for ELDs, and establishes new hours-of-service supporting document requirements that will result in additional paperwork reductions.
   FMSCA said smart phones and other wireless devices will be allowed to be used as ELDs, provided they satisfy technical specifications and are certified by the administration, and drivers from Canada and Mexico will also be required to use ELDs when operating on U.S. roadways.
   FMSCA estimates the ELD final rule will prevent 26 fatalities and 562 injuries resulting from crashes involving large commercial motor vehicles every year on average.
   “Since 1938, complex, on-duty/off-duty logs for truck and bus drivers were made with pencil and paper, virtually impossible to verify,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said of the final rule. “This automated technology not only brings logging records into the modern age, it also allows roadside safety inspectors to unmask violations of federal law that put lives at risk.”
   “This is a win for all motorists on our nation’s roadways,” added FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling.  “Employing technology to ensure that commercial drivers comply with federal hours-of-service rules will prevent crashes and save lives.”