Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/945822
36 AGGREGATES MANAGER / March 2018 Have DOT-regulated drivers? Electronic logging devices are here. Benjamin J. Ross is an associate in Jackson Kelly's Occupational Safety and Health Litigation Practice Group and is based in the firm's Denver office, where he focuses his practice on the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, and Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act, among others. He can be reached at 303-390-0026 or bross@ jacksonkelly.com. Are You Ready for ELD? O n Dec. 16, 2015, the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) publis- hed a Final Rule on Electronic Logging Devices and Hours of Service Supporting Documents. The rule requires that motor carriers and drivers retain supporting documents to verify their driving hours. But, the biggest change that the rule instituted is to require that hours of service (HOS) drivers track their hours using an electronic logging device (ELD). Previously, FMCSA mandated that all drivers track their HOS using Records of Duty Status (RODS), which required drivers to record hours on graph grid paper by hand and retain those pa- pers. Times have changed, and the new ELD Rule requires drivers of Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) to install ELDs in certain vehicles — model years 2000 and newer. The rule established a timeline to phase in requirements for use of ELDs. By Dec. 16, 2019, the rule enters its third and final phase and will be fully effective. The first phase, which ended on Dec. 16, 2017, was the "awareness and transition" phase. It only required voluntary use of ELDs while FMCSA conducted presentations, webinars, and other outreach programs to raise awareness and explain the ELD Rule's requirements. During this first phase, FMCSA touted the safety benefits that ELDs promote by correctly tracking hours, but also highlighted that ELDs would eliminate paper and make the process easier for drivers and motor carriers. The second phase, which began on Dec. 17, 2017, initiated mandatory use of ELDs. During this phase, the rule requires all HOS drivers to track hours using ELDs. The rule provides a temporary reprieve to those currently using grandfathered "Automatic On Board Recording Devices" and al- lows them until Dec. 16, 2019, to comply with ELD use. The familiar, handwritten grid graph sheets will no longer comply with the HOS standard. Although the rule changes how drivers record hours, the most important thing for drivers and motor carriers to understand is that the rule does not change who must record their hours. The rule did not change any of the existing exceptions to the HOS rule. If the regulations did not require a driver/motor carrier to track hours using RODS, then they are not required to use ELDs. The HOS rule still only applies to CMV that tra- vel in interstate commerce. Drivers who cross state borders qualify as interstate commerce. However, motor carriers should be aware that FMCSA's definition of interstate is quite broad. FMCSA looks to the initial shipper's intent to determine whether cargo is interstate. Therefore, a driver operates in interstate commerce even without crossing state ROCKLAW Benjamin J. Ross