Insights - September 2017 - 11

ELD Mandate
Draws Ever Closer:
How Ready Are You?

fter years of waiting, the future - in the form
of the electronic logging device mandate -
is almost here.
The Dec. 18 deadline to comply with Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration requirements is coming ever closer, increasing the sense of urgency for action, which was stressed by
nine experts and suppliers who spoke with Intermodal Insights.
The ELD adoption's timing, in question for more than five years
while court challenges were considered, was solidified in June
when the Supreme Court upheld lower courts' support of the
mandate.
Late in August, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced that after Dec. 18 enforcement will begin documenting
violations for non-compliance with the ELD regulations, and may,
based on the jurisdiction, issue citations. The issuance of Out-ofService Orders relating to the ELD regulations won't begin until
April 1, 2018. The Dec. 18 compliance deadline remains in force,
and OOS orders for other violations will continue, CVSA said.
There are multiple reasons for fleets to keep preparing.
"Don't wait until the last 30 days to act," said Tom Cuthbertson,
vice president of regulatory compliance at supplier Omnitracs.
"There is no hiding. You are going to have to be prepared to
comply," said Kelly Frey, vice president of product marketing at
Telogis, a Verizon company.
Frey and Cuthbertson stated a common theme among those
interviewed. Cuthbertson underscored the urgency by noting that
freight volumes often peak in the fall, turning fleets' attention to
generating revenue rather than taking trucks and drivers off the
road for ELD training and implementation.
Additionally, both fleets and providers were unanimous in
saying a last-ditch effort to delay the compliance date through
legislation is certain to fail because Congress is weighing more
important legislative matters, and the Supreme Court decision
ended the legal debate.
"There doesn't seem to be much momentum to repeal the
mandate," said Dave Osiecki, CEO of Scopelitis Transportation
Consulting and a former executive vice president of policy at
American Trucking Associations.

ELD Basics
In a nutshell, basic ELDs capture date, time, location, engine
hours, vehicle information, and driver and carrier data. Driving
hours begin to be counted when the truck reaches 5 mph. There is
a long list of additional features fleets can choose to add to the devices. Among them are driver vehicle inspection reports, GPS tracking, fuel tax calculation, tire pressure monitoring, trailer tracking
and engine diagnostics. All newly manufactured trucks must have

ELDs as of the Dec. 18 compliance date. Trucks manufactured
before 2000 are exempt because they don't have an engine control
module, which is an important element of the ELD rules.
However, if prior to Dec. 18 a truck already is equipped
with an AOBRD, or automatic on-board recording device, two
extra years are granted to become compliant with devices
incorporating the new ELD requirements.
The FMCSA website lists ELD vendors that have self-certified
as being compliant with the ELD requirements. While the vendors
self-certify the devices, the agency doesn't test them.
For intermodal, there is a particular factor to consider: ELDs
are not required for drivers operating within a 100-air-mile radius
of their normal work reporting location. Other terms that must be
met in order to qualify for the exemption include:
* The driver must start and end the day at the same location.
* The driver must be released from work within 12 consecutive
hours.
* The driver must have at least 10 consecutive hours off
between each 12-hour shift.
* The driver must not drive more than 11 hours.
Those who qualify for this exemption can make as many as
eight trips every 30 days outside the 100-mile boundary, using
paper logs to track their hours for the day.
Fleet executives stressed ELDs' long-term value over shortterm pain.
Mike Burton, president of C & K Trucking, has five years
of experience with ELDs. He acknowledged initial issues with
technology, mostly among older drivers. Today, as smart phones
and email have proliferated, those problems have diminished.
"We don't really lose drivers because of ELDs now," Burton
said, though initially about 10 percent quit when C & K added the
technology. "Now, knowing everyone has to convert, no one is
talking about leaving. There's no place to go when all carriers will
have to comply."
He cautioned that while some may expect huge gains
because paperwork is reduced, it's still important to have trained
back office staff that can monitor the technology and channel the
ELD information to help improve productivity.

'Core Value'
"We want to be sure that we are safe," said John Vesco,
president of Hub Group Trucking. "Safety is a core value."
ELD - continued on page 13
September 2017 | Intermodal Insights

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - September 2017