The ELD Mandate Latest News You Need to Know

Today we are going to be looking at the ELD Mandate latest news you need to know. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) updated the list of hours-of-service (HOS) violations used in the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) enforcement model or the Safety Measurement System (SMS).

The ELD Mandate Latest News You Need to Know

As many of you already know, ELD violations didn’t affect your Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores during the “soft enforcement” period (December 18, 2017 – April 1, 2018).

However, now the ELD Mandate is being fully enforced which means any ELD violations will affect your CSA score. If you are stopped during next week’s CVSA Roadcheck 2018 and do not qualify as exempt you will be placed out-of-service for a minimum of 10 hours.

ELD Violations and CSA Scores

Any ELD violations that were accrued following the full enforcement on April 1, 2018, will be counted against your SMS scores. These ELD violations can be seen on your May 2018 monthly SMS report.

Here are the 22 ELD violations, the severity of the violation, and how it will affect your SMS score.

ELD Mandate Exemptions

The 90-day waiver for federally defined agricultural commodities pushes the pause button on the ELD mandate. If you are transporting agricultural commodities as defined by the federal government, you will be covered under the ELD AG Exemption no matter how many times you exceed the 140-mile distance.

All pre-2000 engines are exempt. This applies to all pre-2000 engines whether it came with the vehicle or if it was a replacement. However, this exemption does not apply if the pre-2000 engines are rebuilt to a certain extent and should relabel. If you undergo a roadside inspection, the officer will check the engine tag to determine if your truck is exempt.

Is all transportation of agricultural commodities exempt? This is a more difficult question that owner-operators and self-employed drivers are still asking. According to the Federal government, ELD Ag exemption is considered the transportation of bees, livestock, unprocessed fruits, and vegetables. The exclusivity of the federal definition of agricultural commodities leaves several drivers concerned, considering the ELD mandate. This is in combination with the CSA Roadcheck 2018.

Under the ELD exemption, you do not have to comply with new regulations if you do not exceed 150-miles more than eight times in a 30-day period. Once you extend past this, you have 11 hours of driving time and 14 hours of off-duty time.

CVSA Roadcheck 2018

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 31st Annual International Roadcheck will be June 5-7, 2018. During this 72-hour period, CVSA-certified inspectors will be out to inspect your vehicle.

During the Roadcheck, CVSA inspectors will perform a 37-step inspection on you and your trucks. You will be required to provide your motor carrier registration and commercial driver’s license. The CVSA inspector will check different parts of your vehicle, including the braking system, fuel and exhaust, suspension, and windshield wipers.

This year’s focus will be hours-of-services as result of the DOT’s electronic logging device mandate.

“Although the electronic logging device (ELD) rule that went into effect on Dec. 18, 2017, does not change any of the underlying hours-of-service rules or exceptions, the ELD mandate placed a spotlight on hours-of-service compliance,” said Capt. Turner. “We thought this year would be a perfect opportunity to focus on the importance of the hours-of-service regulations.”

If the CVSA does find significant violations, you or your vehicle may be placed out of service. This means you will not be allowed to operate your vehicle until the driver and/or vehicle violation(s) are corrected.

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