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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | FEBRUARY 2016 29 BUSINESS OPERATIONS N E W S ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES TO BE REQUIRED ACROSS COMMERCIAL TRUCK AND BUS INDUSTRIES The U.S. Department of Transportation's F e d e r a l M o t o r C a r r i e r S a f e t y Administration announced on Dec. 16 the adoption of a Final Rule that it claims will improve roadway safety by employing technology to strengthen commercial truck and bus drivers' compliance with hours- of-service regulations that prevent fatigue. " S i n c e 1 9 3 8 , c o m p l e x , o n - d u t y / off-duty logs for truck and bus drivers were made with pencil and paper, vir- tually impossible to verify," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "This automated technology not only brings logging records into the modern age, it also allows roadside safety inspec- tors to unmask violations of federal law that put lives at risk." According to FMCSA, the Final Rule requiring the use of electronic logging devices will result in an annual net ben- efit of more than $1 billion—largely by reducing the amount of required indus- try paperwork. It will also increase the efficiency of roadside law enforcement personnel in reviewing driver records. Strict protections are included that will protect commercial drivers from harass- ment. On an annual average basis, the ELD Final Rule is estimated to save 26 lives and prevent 562 injuries resulting from crashes involving large commercial motor vehicles. "This is a win for all motorists on our nation's roadways," said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. "Employing technology to ensure that commercial driv- ers comply with federal hours-of-service rules will prevent crashes and save lives." An ELD automatically records driving time. It monitors engine hours, vehicle movement, miles driven, and location information. Federal safety regulations limit the number of hours commercial drivers can be on-duty and still drive, as well as the number of hours spent driving. These limi- tations are designed to prevent truck and bus drivers from becoming fatigued while driving, and require that drivers take a work break and have a sufficient off-duty rest period before returning to on-duty status. The four main elements of the ELD Final Rule include: Requiring commercial truck and bus drivers who currently use paper log books to maintain hours-of-service records to adopt ELDs within two years. It is antici- pated that approximately three million drivers will be impacted. Strictly prohibiting commercial driver harassment. The Final Rule pro- vides both procedural and technical provisions designed to protect commercial truck and bus drivers from harassment resulting from information generated by ELDs. [A separate FMCSA rulemaking further safeguards commercial drivers from being coerced to violate federal safety regulations and provides the agency with the authority to take enforcement actions not only against motor carriers, but also against shippers, receivers, and transporta- tion intermediaries.] Setting technology specifications detailing performance and design require- ments for ELDs so that manufacturers are able to produce compliant devices and systems—and purchasers are enabled to make informed decisions. Establishing new hours-of-service supporting document (shipping docu- ments, fuel purchase receipts, etc.) requirements that will result in additional paperwork reductions. In most cases, a motor carrier would not be required to retain supporting documents verifying on-duty driving time. The ELD Final Rule permits the use of smart phones and other wireless devices as ELDs, so long as they satisfy technical specifications, are certified, and are listed on an FMCSA website. Canadian- and Mexican-domiciled drivers will also be required to use ELDs when operating on U.S. roadways. Motor carriers who have previously installed compliant Automatic On-Board Recording Devices may continue to use the devices for an additional two years beyond the compliance date. A copy of the ELD Final Rule is available at: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/ elds/electronic-logging-devices-and-hours- service-supporting-documents. SEIA COMMENDS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS FOR INCLUDING ITC EXTENSION IN OMNIBUS BILL Following is a statement from Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, on the inclusion of a five-year solar investment tax credit extension in the omnibus appro- priations bill: "Currently there are 200,000 solar jobs, and the extension is likely to add another 140,000 jobs or more. And with this exten- sion, the solar industry can achieve its pledge of employing 50,000 veterans by 2020, a goal our industry takes very seri- ously. These jobs are stable, well-paying and cannot be exported overseas. "A five-year extension of the ITC will lead to more than $125 billion in new, pri- vate sector investment in the U.S. economy. And much of this growth will come from small businesses, which make up more than 85 percent of America's 8,000 solar com- panies. Over the last year, these companies told us they needed the extension of the ITC to provide their businesses with cer- tainty, and SEIA has been working tirelessly to achieve that goal. Tonight, we're happy to see that Congress has responded. "Solar power in this nation will triple by 2022, hitting 95 gigawatts. That's enough to power 19 million homes and represents 3.5 percent of U.S. electricity generation- up from 0.1 percent in 2010. And the extension will offset 100 million metric tons of CO2 annually- equivalent to the emissions from 26 coal fired power plants. "We commend members of Congress in both parties for taking this bold step and we look forward to delivering on the promise that this policy now offers all Americans for clean, affordable and reli- able energy." [Editor's note: "Sunny Days for Solar Power," an article about fuel oil dealers diver- sifying into the solar business, appears on pages 34-36 of this issue of Fuel Oil News.]