Deadline Set for Truckers to Adopt Electronic Logs

With the release in December of a final rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truck drivers and trucking fleets have until December 2017 to transition from paper records to tracking their driving electronically.

Fleets and drivers already using electronic logging devices (ELDs) have until 2019 to update their systems to comply with the safety administration's specifications.

The FMCSA caps drivers at a maximum of 14 hours per shift, during which they can drive 11 hours. They are required to take 10-hour breaks.

Regulators say ELDs will more effectively monitor how long drivers are on the road, which will ultimately reduce fatigue and prevent accidents.

Some drivers, however, say the devices will invite harassment from dispatchers and carriers and interfere with a driver's ability to use sound judgment. Mandating breaks without flexibility, for example, may force a driver to get on the road and begin a shift during peak traffic hours or in dangerous weather conditions, or stop where there is no safe place to park.

Analysts predict the requirement will reduce the nation’s freight capacity, because many fleets that have fudged their paper logs in the past will see an immediate reduction in miles they can drive within federal time limits, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Trucking Alliance, which represents a half-dozen carriers that have lobbied for ELDs, said the rule is the most significant change for trucking since deregulation in 1980. And the American Trucking Association's industry group, which represents carriers, praised the rule, saying it "will change the trucking industry—for the better—forever."

In response to concerns about the cost of the rule, the FMCSA has said drivers can use smartphones, tablets, and rugged handhelds, as long as the system as a whole meets ELD requirements. S