Electronic Logging Device Enforcement Grace Period Ended April 1, 2018

The three-month enforcement grace period for use of electronic logging devices (ELD) to record CDL driver hours of service (HOS) ends on April 1, 2018. CDL drivers caught without an ELD after April 1 will be taken out of service for 10 hours, issued a civil penalty and have points added to their DOT safety scores. The ELD requirement was mandated by Congress in 2012 reauthorization legislation. ELD applies to most motor carriers and drivers who are currently required to prepare and retain written logbooks. ELD does not make any changes to driver HOS requirements. Instead, only the method for recording HOS is changed, from handwritten to electronic records.

The official deadline for installing ELD was December 18, 2017. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), a group made up of state and federal motor carrier enforcement authorities nationwide, began partially enforcing the ELD mandate after the December deadline by issuing fines and points against motor carriers and drivers for violations. However, beginning April 1, drivers violating the ELD mandate will also be issued out of service orders. According to the CVSA, drivers receiving an out of service order may use paper logs to reach their destination but may not be dispatched again for 10 hours and only then with a vehicle equipped with a fully functional ELD.

For PMCI members operating under the 100 air-mile short haul exemption, compliance with the ELD logging rule is not required.  The short haul exemption requires that the CDL driver operate within the 100 air-mile radius (115.08 statute miles) from the driver’s point of origin, go off duty after driving no more than 11 hours during a 12-hour period, and take consecutive hours off duty before returning to work.  Additionally, drivers may operate outside the short haul exemption requirements listed above for up to 8 days in any 30-day period and still be exempt from the requirement to install ELD.  Paper records of on-duty status (RODS) should be kept for any day during which a driver operates outside of the short haul exemption.

Trucks manufactured before model year 2000 are also exempt from the ELD mandate.