Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/293070
22 | Overdrive | April 2014 O f the many topics covered in the 250-page proposed rule to mandate electronic logging devices, one major area is devoted to ensuring carriers can't use the devices to harass drivers. That's what derailed the rule in 2010, when a federal judicial panel vacated the entire rule due to concerns the devices could be used to pressure drivers to continue work when tired or interrupt their rest periods by using the devices to contact them. Congress also required the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement safeguards as it reworked the rule. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association expressed doubt about the new rule's ability to satisfy re- quirements of the highway bill, MAP-21, noting that no device can record a driv- er's duty status automatically. OOIDA said it will study the rule closely. The American Trucking Associations, a key proponent for including an ELD mandate in MAP-21, welcomed the proposal, which was unveiled March 13. The annualized cost of compliance for the new rule will be between $165 and $832 per truck, according to the rule. Here's a breakdown of the four major components in the rule: Mandating ELDs The mandate will apply to all drivers who currently are required to keep paper records of duty status. Drivers who are required to keep re- cords of duty status in at least eight days out of every 30 days must use an ELD. This replaces the 2010 rule's require- ment that drivers who keep records of duty status two or more days out of every seven use a logging device. Carriers and drivers would not be required to install or use a logging device until two years after the effective date of the final rule. Carriers who used what the agency calls "automatic onboard recording devices" (the 1988 rule's term for logging devices) prior to the ELD mandate, however, have two more years on top of that to comply. Rule outlines 8 steps to prevent driver harassment By James Jaillet The devices will not monitor real-time location constantly, but they will indicate location hourly when the truck is moving and at other occasions. Max Heine ELD_Rule.indd 22 4/1/14 10:27 AM