In December 2015 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in response to a mandate by Congress, put into place new regulations that require most drivers of commercial motor vehicles to use an electronic device instead of a paper log to record their hours of service. The final rule went into effect in December 2017 and has been fully enforced since April 2018. The intent of this rule was to increase compliance with the current hours of service regulations, save lives and reduce log book cheating.
Discussion Points:
• Must have a unique login credential for each driver.
• Drive time is automatically captured and cannot be edited.
• Must have the instruction card for the device with it at all times.
• Must be able to demonstrate to law enforcement proper operation.
• Must have at least 8 blank log pages to use in the event of failure.
Discussion:
Your employer is required to provide training specific to the device you will use. You must be able to demonstrate to law enforcement that you know how to log in, enter information and transfer your log records to them upon demand.
It is very important to always have the instruction book and blank log pages with you, if you don’t a DOT officer can put you out of service right on the spot. It is also important to plan your time properly, most of the data on an ELD cannot be changed once it has been captured.
As always, be safe out there!
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