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What Problems Does FMCSA Face with ELD Technology

You are currently viewing What Problems Does FMCSA Face with ELD Technology
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As regulators start enforcement of a rule – truckers use digital driving time trackers in their big rigs – the agency in charge of the regulation accepted there are still some issues concerning the technology.

 

Drivers are having trouble getting the devices, also known as ELDs, to track time and transfer data accurately. Some ELDs are reporting that truckers are hundreds of miles away from their actual locations.

 

Starting Sunday (April 1) drivers of heavy-duty trucks should already have electronic logging devices in their vehicles to operate legally.

 

Regulators say ELDs will ensure that truckers comply with a federal hours-of-service rule. The rule limits driving to no more than 11 hours a day within a 14-hour workday. Drivers must then be off duty for 10 consecutive hours.

 

Although the rule started in December, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration gave truckers a grace period and delayed enforcement until April 1. Truckers could be placed out of service and unable to drive for 10 hours if they don’t have a working ELD beginning on Sunday.

 

But spot enforcement such as issuing citations has started in some regions.

 

The FMSCA told on Thursday it discovered that some of the 330 ELD devices on the market do not meet the technical specifications for data transfer used to show driving hours to law enforcement. There is no exact number of ELD models not working properly.

 

“There have been some snags in the data transfer process with some of the providers,” Joe DeLorenzo, director of enforcement and compliance of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration told.

 

“We’ve been working with the providers that are having those issues to get them squared away,” DeLorenzo said.

 

Truckers told they are having trouble with their devices and even though they have reached out to the vendors, don’t believe the problems will be resolved by Sunday’s deadline.

 

The types of data transfer and other issues should have been resolved before the devices were sold to truckers, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the organization in charge of enforcing the ELD mandate told.

 

“We should have had a process where you had to submit your device and then you have to go through it, review your code and demonstrate an effective data transfer on the front-end,” Collin Mooney, executive director of CVSA told.

 

The self-certification registry is consistent with the agency’s practices, DeLorenzo said.

 

“For us to get involved, testing and analyzing every device was not a solution that was chosen through the notice and comment process of the rule-making,” DeLorenzo said.

 

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