CVSA to Take Phased-In Approach to ELD Mandate
The nation’s commercial vehicle enforcement officials say there’s no reason to delay the December start date for the electronic logging device mandate – but they will delay implementing out-of-service criteria related to ELDs until April 1, 2018, and say each jurisdiction will have discretion as to whether they actually issue citations in the beginning.
On Dec. 18, inspectors and roadside enforcement personnel will begin documenting violations on roadside inspection reports, according to an Aug. 28 announcement from the according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. At the jurisdiction’s discretion, inspectors will issue citations to commercial motor vehicle drivers operating vehicles without a compliant ELD.
Beginning April 1, 2018, inspectors will start placing commercial motor vehicle drivers out of service if their vehicle is not equipped with the required device.
Delaying the out-of-service aspects of the rule will “provide the motor carrier industry, shippers and the roadside enforcement community with time to adjust to the new requirement before vehicles are placed out of service for ELD violations,” CVSA said.
CVSA noted that member jurisdictions have used this phased-in approach in the past when implementing a significant change in regulatory requirements.
Opponents of the ELD rule, most notably the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, have been lobbying Congress to try to get a delay in the rule’s implementation, at least for smaller carriers.
“Motor carriers have had two full years to prepare for the requirement and obtain devices for their vehicles,” wrote CVSA Executive Director Collin B. Mooney in a letter to FMCSA. “FMCSA’s own research has found that the use of ELDs results in a reduction in a motor carrier’s crash rate and hours-of-service violations. It is time to move forward with this regulation.”
One of the arguments for delay has been that enforcement officials are not ready. And at CVSA’s recent North American Inspectors Championship, one …Read the rest of this story
