The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plans to roll out “a complete overhaul” of the ELD vetting process, the agency announced on Monday, Dec. 1.
Currently, most truck drivers are required to use an electronic logging device to track his or her hours of service. ELDs were mandated in 2017, but ELD providers have been able to self-certify the devices. According to FMCSA, the system made it easy for companies to register non-compliant devices or re-register devices that had been revoked.
The agency said its new vetting process will give truck drivers and motor carriers more confidence that the ELDs they purchase are “accurate, reliable and compliant.”
“American families deserve to feel safe sharing a road with semi-trucks, and we want truck drivers to have the best tools to maximize those safety precautions,” FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said in a news release. “By strengthening our review process for ELDs, we are ensuring the industry can rely on trusted equipment and that hardworking drivers are prioritizing their health and well-being, so they are best prepared to keep driving America’s economy forward.”
FMCSA did not provide full details on how the new vetting process will work, and the agency did not immediately respond to Land Line’s questions about a timeline and if the self-certification process was being eliminated.
However, FMCSA said the new ELD vetting process will include an initial review, fraud detection and an application categorization of approved, information requested, further review and denied.
ELD revisions
In 2022, FMCSA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that considered changes to the ELD mandate in five areas:
- Applicability to pre-2000 engines
- Addressing ELD malfunctions
- The process for removing an ELD from FMCSA’s list of certified devices
- Technical specifications
- ELD certification
The comment period ended in November 2022, but a notice of proposed rulemaking isn’t expected until May 2026.
We do know, however, that the administration does not plan to remove the exemption for pre-2000 engines. As part of a Pro-Trucker Package released in June, the DOT announced that the exemption wasn’t going anywhere.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which opposed the original ELD mandate and petitioned the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, filed comments in 2022 to keep the exemption in place.
“Our members have vigorously opposed the ELD mandate since its inception,” OOIDA wrote in comments signed by President Todd Spencer in 2022. “There was never sufficient research indicating the mandate would improve highway safety, and the agency still lacks data demonstrating any positive safety results since its full implementation.” LL
Credit: Source link
