Commentary: A Whirlwind of Last-Minute ELD Preparations
Deborah Lockridge
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Deborah Lockridge
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The trucking industry has had nearly two years to prepare for the mandate requiring electronic logging devices to track driver hours, which goes into effect Dec. 18. Yet a surprising number of fleets have not yet adopted them.
Morgan Stanley, which has been conducting quarterly ELD surveys of fleets since May 2015, in August reported that nearly 30% of carriers were not yet in full compliance. And 15% of the carriers surveyed did not expect to be fully compliant when Dec. 18 rolls around.
It’s likely some smaller carriers have been waiting in hopes that the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s quest to derail the mandate (see the latest on page 14) will bear fruit. But not taking action on the electronic logging device mandate because you’re hoping for a last-minute reprieve from the government is a bit like refusing to prepare for a hurricane because you’re hoping for a last-minute change in the storm track.
In fact, given our recent experience with Hurricane Irma, I’d say your chances are better for missing the hurricane.
After the Supreme Court declined to hear OOIDA’s appeal in its case to block ELDs this summer, the association turned to lobbying tactics to try to get Congress to step in. So far, legislation has been proposed but is going nowhere fast.
OOIDA also filed a petition with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration claiming that it wasn’t even legal for many states to enforce the mandate because they needed to incorporate it into state law. But it appears that most of those states have in place laws that make adoption of federal rules for interstate haulers automatic.
When I talked to FMCSA’s chief enforcement guru last month, Joe DeLorenzo, he emphasized that the government is ready and able to start enforcing the new rule.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance …Read the rest of this story
