Beginning December 17, 2019, at 12:01 a.m., all motor carriers and drivers subject to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) electronic logging devices (ELD) final rule must use an ELD registered with the agency to record their hours-of-service data. This deadline also pertains to grandfathered automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDs), meaning motor carriers and drivers utilizing an AOBRD must have a new device installed that meets the ELD specifications by that deadline.

There will be no extensions or exceptions, and no “soft enforcement” grace period. That’s according to FMCSA and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), which recently confirmed that inspectors will begin fully enforcing the ELD rule on December 17, 2019.

If a commercial motor vehicle driver is required to use an ELD and the vehicle is not equipped with a registered compliant ELD, the driver is considered to have no record of duty status, which is in violation 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1). This also applies to a driver still using an AOBRD after the date that full enforcement of the federal ELD rule takes effect.

According to the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, property-carrying commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers operating without a record of duty status will be placed out of service for 10 hours; passenger-carrying CMV drivers will be placed out of service for 8 hours. CVSA’s Inspection Bulletin regarding hand-held and electronic logging devices outlines the requirements for devices used to record drivers’ hours of service according to 49 CFR Part 395 Subpart B – Electronic Logging Devices.

Owner Operator Direct would like to remind all motor carriers and drivers subject to the ELD rule to ensure the following steps are taken before the full enforcement deadline:

• Select and install registered, self-certified ELDs. If you’ve already established an ELD program, make sure the devices you are using have not been revoked by checking FMCSA’s Revoked ELDs list.

• Train your drivers and administrative staff on using the ELDs you have selected to record, edit, certify, and transfer hours-of-service data.

• Familiarize yourself with your device's supported data transfer methods, and ensure all vehicles have the instructions required per §395.22(h).

It should be noted that the ELD final rule does not change any of the underlying hours-of-service regulations, and the ELD exceptions specified in the ELD rule and the ELD exemptions announced by FMCSA will not be impacted by the full compliance deadline.

For more information about FMCSA's ELD rule, please visit our ELD webpage.

Owner Operator Direct provides top notch commercial trucking insurance to owner operators, whether operating with authority or as leased drivers. For a no-obligation quote, give us a ring at 800-499-1044 (Monday-Friday 9-5 pm ET) or answer some questions online and we'll email you one.