Overdrive

38 | Overdrive | July 2017 PRESENTING LOGS AT ROADSIDE E-mail Among the telematics options for trans- fer, states are most familiar with email output from current-generation auto- matic onboard recording devices, the current regulated type of device. Legacy AOBRDs can be used by carriers that have installed them prior to the Dec. 18 ELD enforcement for two years, until December 2019, when full ELD imple- mentation is scheduled. Smartphone- based log book apps popular with owner-operators such as BigRoad and KeepTruckin, both currently also offered with engine connections to function as AOBRDs, make it relatively easy to output an email with the required hours compliance information to inspectors. In the case of BigRoad, says Mike Davies, company product vice president, "We're taking a belt-and-suspenders approach" given skepticism about the broad rollout of the data-transfer system FMCSA wants in place in the states by Dec. 18. "We're not taking away any of the options" for displaying required hours information to an officer. Printing with a Bluetooth-connected peripheral printer, faxing and emailing will remain options as the program comes under the ELD specification. Come Dec. 18, Davies says, "There will be states that will de facto fall back to how they inspect AOBRD systems today. We'll be adding eRODS [capabil- ity] and keeping all the other pieces in there as backup." Vermont Capt. Kevin Andrews, not- ing his state was not "prepared to accept [logs] any other way" than email, sug- gested that eRODS likely wouldn't be a total reality before the final Phase 3 of the ELD rule, which begins in December 2019. Until then, the follow- ing options are likely to play as large a role in roadside transfer as email. Device display The display required by the ELD rule specifies use of a graph grid similar to that in paper logs today, but that's not all it requires. The illustration below shows other information likewise will be available through prints and displays for officers. Among states responding to Overdrive queries, only Missouri reported total reticence to rely on the display for current and previous-seven-days log checks. This carries over from years prior when computer-assisted logs on drivers' laptops and cellphones (not synced with the truck's ECM) became de rigueur in trucking. The Show- Me State only wanted those drivers' logs shown on a piece of paper, given liability issues, says Highway Patrol Lt. Kevin Kelley. In the ELD era, checking a device's display or a print, however, will play second fiddle there to USB, wireless web OUT-OF-SERVICE CONDITIONS RELATED TO ELDS The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's an- nouncement of the availability of the updated out-of-service criteria handbook noted amend- ments related to electronic logging devices. Unlike previous updates, however, the alliance didn't spell out those additions. Closer examination of the book itself reveals that none are new OOS conditions. Rather, they're footnotes related to current OOS conditions having to do with the hours of service, namely having no log book, having no previous seven days of logs and presenting a false log. All require putting the driver OOS for eight consecutive hours. • If a driver/carrier isn't using an ELD on FMCSA's device registry, it's considered to be having no log book. There's a wrinkle in this, though, given FMCSA's grandfather period for current-generation automatic onboard recording devices. AOBRDs meeting fairly minimal requirements compared to ELD specs are essentially grandfathered through Dec. 16, 2019. The ELD mandate notes that any carrier installing an AOBRD prior to this year's ELD enforcement date can use that device until the 2019 date. Practically, what that means is that enforc- ing the requirement to use a registry-listed device is unlikely before that time, particu- larly for carriers that comply with the ELD rule and install an engine-connected e-log prior to Dec. 18. So the registry's impor- tance for carriers choosing ELDs at this stage is minimal. If placed OOS for this one prior to 2019, and you have proof you were using an ELD/AOBRD prior to Dec. 18 this year, this could be cause for a challenge to remove it from your record. • A driver "unable to produce or transfer the data" from an AOBRD or ELD at roadside will be considered to have no log and be placed OOS. • If you use a special driving category – a yard move or personal conveyance, for ex- ample – "when not involved in that activity," you're considered to have a false log. • In the event of AOBRD/ELD failure, inability to reconstruct the previous seven days of logs will net you an hours violation for not having the logs. Fortunately, in fail- ure cases, if you're a true independent with authority and you have access to the web at roadside, with most ELD platforms you'll be able to access your logs to either email to an officer or print to carry with you down the road in case of an inspection. Keep a paper log in the truck for on-the-spot malfunction backups for that current period. If you're leased or a company driver, it's not uncommon that drivers in such situations move to a paper log for their current period and have their required previous seven days' logs emailed to them or an officer. • Failure by a carrier to "repair a mal- functioning electronic logging device within eight days," as required by the mandate, or to obtain an extension from FMCSA will net a no-log book OOS. • Failure by a driver to use the ELD like it's supposed to be used (logged in with your driver profile) merits a no-logbook OOS. • If you're not an exempted carrier or driver under the terms of the ELD mandate and you're not using an ELD, you'll be considered to have no log book. In terms of your company safety record, your own if you've got authority, having no log comes with a 5 (out of 10) severity weight in the Compliance, Safety, Account- ability Safety Measurement System – not publicly available at the moment, but still impactful in some business relationships. OOS violations in the CSA SMS' scoring methodology also receive extra weight – 2 more points.

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