What to do if your ELD malfunctions

Drivers are required to reconstruct hours of service on paper if their electronic logging devices stop working.    With the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate in full effect, drivers have to know what to do if the device malfunctions.
   On “Land Line Now,” a news and information program designed specifically for America’s truck drivers, Dale Watkins and Trevor Williams of OOIDA’s business services department discussed the procedures drivers need to take if their ELDs stop working.
   Watkins said the first thing a driver should do is contact the ELD manufacturer to see if it’s a programming issue that can be fixed right away.
   Drivers are required to have eight blank paper logbooks in their possession at all times and are supposed to use them if their ELDs stop working.
   If your ELD stops working and you cannot retrieve your past seven days, you are supposed to “reconstruct,” not “recreate” your last seven days of paper logs, Watkins said, saying that he thinks that’s almost impossible to do, despite being the regulation.
   “A lot of the folks will talk about how they will keep a loose-leaf notebook now with their record of duty status changes in them, that way if they do need to go back and reconstruct those logs, it’s a little bit easier for them,” Williams said. “Of course, if your ELD has the ability to print or take screenshots and save them, we always recommend doing that.”
   Drivers are allowed to use paper logs as a backup for up to eight days.
   “If the unit will not be repaired or functional within eight days, by the fifth day, you need to file an extension request with the FMCSA division administrator in the state where your principal place of business is located,” according to the OOIDA Foundation’s website, which provides further details on filing for an extension.