Anticipation and procrastination: The ELD mandate pulling all strings in the trucking industry
Multiple technology vendors are anticipating the final ELD compliance date already flooding the market with electronic logging devices. A significant number of companies and owner-operators though still procrastinating the installation of ELDs. Despite the ongoing resistance though the changes are inevitable – all fleet and owner operators must comply with the ELD mandate by December 18, 2017. All motor carriers and truck drivers, who are required to manage a record of duty status (RODS) need to install ELDs in their commercial motor vehicles. But to comply with the original MAP-21 bill, enacted by the US-Congress, the ELDs have to be certified. The choice is not limited. The Federal Motor Vehicle Administration has already listed on its website nearly 80 products self-certified by vendors. That list keeps growing.
According to http://talkbusiness.net the executive board of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which determines out-of-service violations, has voted to postpone the placing a vehicle out of service for not having an ELD until April 1. The Director of FSMCA, Joe De Lorenzo also considers “softer” punishment for not compliance resulting in fines instead of an out-of-service violation. As of 18th of December, a driver who is pulled over and not in compliance with the ELD mandate could receive a citation, and both the driver and the carrier could face penalties. “From an enforcement perspective, this is about hours of service compliance,” De Lorenzo said for the site TalkBusiness.net
Data from a recent survey done by C.J. Driscoll & Associates shows that many carriers are planning to wait until the third and fourth quarters to deploy ELDs. But the demand will get higher as the deadline is approaching.
Many of the ELD systems come with additional features, such as driver vehicle inspection reports and IFTA fuel-tax reporting. If the ELD is part of a telematics package, standard functionality might include asset tracking, fuel consumption, driver behavior monitoring and engine diagnostics. Gaining these benefits sooner rather than later can be an additional reason to avoid waiting.
Transport Topics, http://www.ttnews.com/
Transportation companies need to conserve the data for six months, as well as a backup copy of the RODS on another device.
ELDs are not only a safety measure but also a highly functioning tool for regulating logistic companies’ profits and losses. When the device is not present, firms can operate on significant losses because drivers’ actions are not being monitored, and thus many violations are not recorded by the company, but yet sanctioned by law figures and institutions. The lack of this service can also result in lower business productivity and displacements of profit – fuel frauds and unobserved and undeclared costs. The installation and maintenance of certified ELDs are offered by truck repair shops like Merx Truck & Trailer in Illinois. Their facility is located at 5200 Proviso Dr, Melrose Park, IL 60163
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