OOIDA Supports Coalition Asking for 2-Year Delay of ELD Mandate
A coalition of 31 transportation associations including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is opposing the implementation of the ELD mandate and is backing proposed legislation that would delay the rule by two years.
Industries represented in the coalition include agriculture, pyrotechnics, utility contractors, livestock and several others that could be negatively impacted by the mandate. The OOIDA is been one of the most vocal groups in the trucking industry to oppose the electronic logging devices being made mandatory.
“The electronic logging device mandate is written so broadly that it has far-reaching implications well beyond the traditional trucking industry,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA.
The group supports a bill (H.R. 3282, the ELD Extension Act of 2017) proposed by Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) that would delay the ELD mandate for two years. Earlier in September, another bill proposed by Babin that included an amendment to defund the ELD mandate (H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act of 2018) was voted down on the house floor.
The coalition believes the mandate should be delayed until the FMCSA addresses what it says are numerous unresolved issues identified by impacted stakeholders. The group’s concerns include the certification of devices, connectivity problems in remote areas of the country, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the ability of law enforcement to access data.
The coalition also believes that the ELD mandate will impact stakeholders with costs of more than $2 billion while failing to improve safety, productivity, or profitability. OOIDA contends that requiring electronic monitoring devices on commercial vehicles does not advance safety since they are no more reliable than paper logbooks for recording compliance with hours-of-service regulations.
In response, David Heller, vice president of government affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association stated that sticking to the Dec. 18 deadline will give the industry time to generate …Read the rest of this story
