Drivers Operating a CMV Without an ELD Will Be Placed Out of Service

Greenbelt, Maryland (April 1, 2018) – Starting today, April 1, 2018, property-carrying commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers operating their vehicle without a required registered electronic logging device (ELD) or a grandfathered automatic onboard recording device (AOBRD) will be placed out of service for 10 hours; passenger-carrying CMV drivers will be placed out of service for 8 hours.

Violations will be recorded on a roadside inspection report and the driver may be cited (e.g., issued a violation ticket or a civil penalty) for failing to have a required electronic record of duty status.

After 8 or 10 hours out of service, the driver may continue to their final destination, provided the driver has accurately documented their hours-of-service requirements using a paper record of duty status (e.g., log book, daily log or log) and has a copy of the inspection report and/or citation.

If the driver is stopped again before reaching his/her final destination, the driver must provide the safety official with a copy of the inspection report and evidence (e.g., bill of lading) proving that he/she is still on the continuation of the original trip.

After reaching their final destination, if the driver is re-dispatched again without obtaining a compliant ELD, he/she will again be subject to the out-of-service process outlined above, unless the driver is traveling back to the principal place of business or terminal empty to obtain an ELD.

All ELD violations will be counted against a motor carrier's Safety Measurement System (SMS) score, which will drive selection for investigation within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program. FMCSA will determine appropriate action against non-compliant motor carriers.

Please note that motor carriers that installed and used an AOBRD prior to Dec. 18, 2017, may install and use additional ELD-capable devices with complaint AOBRD software after Dec. 18, 2017. These AOBRDs may be used until Dec. 16, 2019, and must meet the requirements of 49 CFR 395.15.

The ELD footnotes 11-14 in Part I of the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria are now in effect, which means that drivers operating CMVs with violations related to ELD compliance in those footnotes will be placed out of service for 8 or 10 hours, then permitted to continue, as outlined above.

Remember, the ELD mandate does not change the underlying hours-of-service requirements.