This is part of a FreightWaves series on the electronic logging device mandate. Federal regulators began enforcing the mandate on April 1, 2018. Read more from this series here.
ELDs — those devices meant to keep truckers and the companies they drive for “honest” when logging in hours of service — have been one of the most controversial pieces of equipment in the industry over the last five years.
That’s one reason why the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is currently combing through more than 1,300 public comments responding to its proposal to modify the ELD regulation in an effort to make them easier to use.
Specifically, FMCSA is considering changes in five areas: applicability to pre-2000 engines, addressing ELD malfunctions, the process for removing ELDs from the agency’s certification list, technical specifications and ELD certification.
The question is, will the changes — if the agency decides to make any — actually help?
“There needs to be more safeguards in place to keep ELDs from recording hours of service that actually go against my drivers,” John Mallory, director of safety for Sapulpa, Oklahoma-based John Christner Trucking, told FreightWaves.
More from this series: Federal law designed to make trucking safer may have aggravated worst issues
“The driver is supposed to log out of the ELD and put it in ‘shop’ status when they return to our facility, but they don’t always do that or know that they need to do it,” Mallory said. “Also, a lot of times my team drivers will forget to make the driver switch on the ELD, and there’s no way to fix that. That leaves me with a driver breaking the 11-hour [driving limit per day] rule because his wife drove on his log-in time.”
In fact, FMCSA is looking at several changes to the current regulation that might address Mallory’s problem of drivers remaining in driving status while they’re out of the vehicles, including a requirement that ELDs automatically record an on-duty not-driving event following the recording of an engine shutdown.
Applicability to pre-2000 engines/glider kits
While the current ELD rule does not require drivers to use ELDs when operating trucks older than model year 2000, FMCSA points out in its proposal that many vehicles with pre-2000 engines — and most vehicles with rebuilt pre-2000 engines (known as “glider” trucks) — have engine control modules installed that could accommodate an ELD. The agency is therefore considering making the regulation apply to these engines as well.
Making such a requirement, however, received mixed reviews, based on a sampling of responses to the proposal.
“Expanding the ELD requirement to include these types of vehicles would bring more vehicles under the ELD requirement and help improve hours-of-service compliance and roadway safety for those vehicles,” wrote Collin Mooney, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which represents state DOTs and highway patrols.
However, he added, “this change would be difficult to enforce, eroding any intended safety benefit. It is very difficult to verify roadside whether or not a vehicle is subject to the ELD regulations based on the engine manufacture date. Expanding the ELD requirements to include these vehicles will result in confusion and inconsistencies in enforcement of the regulations.”
Watch now: What has been the impact of the ELD in trucking?
But the Truckload Carriers Association, which lobbies on behalf of major carriers such as Werner and Knight-Swift, had the opposite view.
“ELDs should be required on as many trucks as possible, including rebuilt or remanufactured engines or glider kits that can accommodate ELD technology,” according to TCA President Jim Ward. “FMCSA should push for expanded ELD adoption because it is an important tool to track compliance for the hours-of-service regulations, which were designed to improve safety.”
Joe Rajkovacz, government affairs director for the Western States Trucking Association, made the point that FMCSA’s proposal failed to take into account whether trucks operating without an ELD were overrepresented in crash data.
“If not, why would the agency want to needlessly inflict more harm on highway safety by needlessly expanding the mandate?” Rajkovacz stated. “FMCSA should more closely analyze whether a safety issue factually exists before considering any alteration” to the current exemption for pre-2000 engines, he asserted.
Addressing ELD malfunctions
The ELD regulation currently requires a driver documenting his or her record of duty status to switch to paper logs when an ELD malfunctions so that law enforcement is still able to review the driver’s work-hour status. But an ELD can malfunction while continuing to accurately record the driver’s hours — in which case the driver should not switch to paper logs. Because this has resulted in confusion as to when a driver is required to switch from electronic to paper logs, FMCSA is considering making the regulation more explicit.
The ELD malfunction issues raised by FMCSA “lead to confusion for both fleets and enforcement,” according to Dan Horvath, vice president for safety policy at the American Trucking Associations.
“When clarifying, FMCSA should consider flexibility for when hours of service are still being recorded correctly, including when there are formatting issues. It would be helpful for FMCSA to create categories for when a malfunction leads to inaccuracy with records and for when malfunctions do not impact accuracy of records. It is also important that the driver has a clear indication of the situation and what actions they need to take, if any.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association agreed. “However, the agency must also work with enforcement to ensure motor carriers and drivers are not penalized when ELD failures and malfunctions beyond their control lead to inconsistencies in records,” stated OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer.
Removal process
The current ELD regulation does not address what happens in the case of a certified ELD listed on FMCSA’s website going out of business — so FMCSA is considering whether it should immediately remove the device from its certified device list.
The agency is also considering cutting in half (from 60 days to 30 days) the amount of time that an ELD provider has to respond to a notice warning that its device is not compliant “in order to more timely remove an ELD … that could adversely impact highway safety,” the agency stated in its proposal.
“If an ELD [provider] goes out of business with no plan to provide support through a third party, the ELD should be removed from the registered ELD list,” contends David Brillon and Nicolas Guerin, chief technology officer and product manager, respectively, for Isaac Instruments, a Montreal, Canada-based ELD maker serving Canada and the U.S. “However, the carriers using the ELD should be given sufficient time to find a suitable replacement — one year, for example.”
Dawn King, president of the Truck Safety Coalition, which routinely opposes relaxation of trucking regulations, commented that highway safety is “adversely impacted” by the current response time.
“FMCSA should require that ELD manufacturers respond to a written notice of non-compliance in 30 days instead of 60 days,” King wrote. “Failure to do so creates an opportunity for carriers and drivers to potentially utilize an ELD that is unable to confirm the legitimacy of the device readings and unable to validate compliance with HOS requirements for an extra 30 days, unnecessarily putting public safety at-risk.”
Technical specifications
Among a handful of technical specification changes FMCSA is considering — including the driving status issue noted above by John Christner Trucking’s Mallory — is allowing a driver, rather than the motor carrier, to change his or her ELD configuration to an “exempt” status when appropriate to reduce administrative burdens raised by the trucking industry.
“FMCSA should provide motor carriers with the option of letting drivers select their own exempt status in their ELD configuration,” according to Meera Bhaskar, policy counsel for ELD provider Samsara.
“Allowing this would alleviate the administrative burden … particularly for carriers where drivers frequently switch between short-haul and regional operations, requiring the carrier to perform the administrative function of sending a configuration to the ELD each time, so that a driver can operate in an exempt status.”
OOIDA’s Spencer disagreed, concerned that such a change “would lead to greater coercion of drivers by motor carriers.”
ELD certification
FMCSA also sought public feedback on doing away with the current self-certification process by ELD providers and instead move to a third-party certification regime, as is the case in Canada.
Such a process would alleviate cost and driver delay issues currently experienced in Oregon, according to the state’s motor carrier enforcement manager, Carla Phelps. Phelps told FreightWaves in November that the large number of nonstandard ELD devices translates into longer roadside inspection times.
“If a dynamic certification process is implemented to validate ELDs and their providers, inspection times should begin to drop back down,” she said.
But CVSA, whose members conduct roadside inspections, is not convinced that third-party certification would improve the cost and delay issues that Oregon or other states are experiencing.
“If inspectors are finding drivers with a malfunctioning device, whether or not the device is certified is not going to change the time frame that it takes inspectors to do inspections at roadside,” Kerri Wirachowsky, CVSA’s director of inspection programs, told FreightWaves.
Zack
To whom it may concern
I really like to know how may of the FMCSA Personnel have been in a truck for weeks at a time, I can tell you that currently the ELD hour regulations can make you more unsafe under some circumstances, (Shipping hours, appointments , I can go on and on.) This regulations is not one fits all. O/O usually depends on one trailer, We can’t drop and hook Like big companies do to safe time. One post couldn’t say it more clearly. We are not Robots we Humans. The ELD can’t dictate when you are tired or rest.
Chris Vance
The FMCSA promised that implementation of the ELD system would make the trucking industry as safer place for all to work. In fact the ELD has made our roadways more dangerous to operate on. Since the implementation of the ELD mandate the amount of accidents have increased significantly, the amount of speeding tickets have increased significantly, the incidences of Reckless and careless driving have increased significantly. The old way IE using paper logs was actually a more flexible way and more safe way to operate on our motorways. And yes I understand under the old system there were a lot of bad apples out there that were abusing the system but the problem with the ELD is it has been used by Major carriers as an efficiency tool not as a safety device. Larger carriers are using it to force their drivers to drive as fast as they possibly can to move Freight from point A to point B and it makes it easier for those carriers to track where their trucks are what their drivers are doing minute by minute which is causing the drivers to become more Reckless because they are trying to beat the clock. If you truly want to make our roadways more safe than you need to resend the Mandate on elds at allow companies to either choose to use them or do you use paper logs. Drivers know when they’re tired drivers know when it’s safe to be on the road let the drivers do their jobs that’s what we are trained to do we don’t need the government looking over our shoulders and backseat drivers. All these major pile-ups that are occurring lately within the last few years are result of the Eld and drivers trying to beat the clock because the companies are forcing the drivers into situations that the driver should know better than to get himself into. So instead of going through and making exemptions to the hours of service with elds. Why don’t we just resend the Mandate and allow drivers to make the choices. The accident rates would would drop, and the roads would be safer. The Eld was a fine experiment but we have seen that it has been a massive failure it has not done what it was intended to do which was make our roadways safer. It is time for the elds to go and allow drivers to do what they do best which is Drive their trucks. Thank you for hearing me out.
Raul Sanchez
I would like someone to take the issue of truckers seriously. Number one question that nobody talks about, as if it were a taboo. It’s not the ELD. Because truckers are tired and stressed, and rather mentally. The answer to that is everyone, the problem is the poor pay and the false image that they sell that they are going to earn 6,000 or 7,000 a week when it is a lie, I invested all my savings in this and I am bankrupt because what I earn in the loads it is for oil and insurance and without stories the business that the first day does not make you happy is useless
David A bell
FMCSA IS GOVERNMENT. GOVERNMENT DOESN’T FIX ANYTHING THEY MAKE THINGS WORSE.
Garret A Sudbring
Follow the money! Investigate insider trading. Politicians that made big money on ELD mandate in the name of safety. More death & accidents bodily injuries do to ELD’S. ELD’S treat drivers like robots instead human beings with different work habits. ELD’S not about safety. ELD’S about revenue not saving lives. ELD’S put not only truck drivers at risk also 4 wheelers. Truth is FMCSA a corrupt organization only good at taking lives & causing grief in transportation industry. Garret A.Sudbring
John
I have been in this industry a long time safety is only good when it don’t cost money if it cost money thay will not pay.eld is government at its the governing. The government can not run the government and thay try to run everyone else
Phil
If they do anything at all It should be to make the use voluntary! And the wrecks and Deaths since the mandate Should open the FMCSA eyes and the silly Safety Groups that they and Congress messed up and should eliminate the Map 21 law that got trucking stuck with the ELD killing machines
Ronnie Broyles
This mandate was a joke at best from the start. The FMCSA used the same old pundits and cubicle dwellers to determine what was best for us. I worked about as good as I said it would. What the FMCSA needs to do is concentrate on what might keep a driver out here. Eld’s & speed limiters are not going to do it for you. Lets start with this FMCSA, I need you to come in to work tomorrow for free. Then i want you to come in the next day for free. Thats the hours a driver averages in a week for free. Then I want you to come in on Sat & Sun. You won’t be paid overtime for this. Something else you do to a driver.
Who do you know that is going to work 2 days for free and get no overtime? Exactly no one. Then you enact moronic mandates that hinder us even more, all while you are astonished that drivers are leaving by the droves. You are also dumb enough to think autonomous trucks are your answer. Good luck with that. Your code has already been hacked anyway. Your cyber security is as good as… not much. You suck. Get some real drivers to tell you what we need. Not one of those morons from the ATA and the like.