Urge Your Members of Congress to Delay the Electronic Logging Device Mandate

As part of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act, Congress mandated that commercial vehicles operating in interstate commerce must be equipped with electronic logging devices (ELDs). The ELD mandate requires all CDL drivers to replace paper log books for recording driver hours of service with FMCSA approved and certified ELDs by December 18, 2017. For trucks already equipped with automatic onboard recording devices, the switch over to ELDs is not required until December 16, 2019. Short haul drivers operating under the 100-air mile exception for written log books are exempt from the ELD requirement. To execute this mandate, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published the ELD final rule in December 2015.

However, Congressman Brian Babin (R-TX) recently introduced an amendment (#35) to H.R. 3354, the “Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act,” that would delay the current implementation deadline for FMCSA’s ELD mandate until September 30, 2018. This responsible delay would provide the agency, law enforcement and the regulated community more time to sufficiently prepare for implementation of this complex rule.

PMAA supports delaying the ELD mandate because it unfairly burdens small businesses, will not improve safety, violates drivers' harassment and privacy rights and provides a flawed cost-benefit analysis. Click here to send comments to your members of Congress.