FMCSA Supplemental Notice on HOS and ELDs

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed amendments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to establish:

• Minimum performance and design standards for hours-of-service (HOS) electronic logging devices (ELDs)
• Requirements for the mandatory use of these devices by drivers currently required to prepare HOS records of duty status (RODS);
• Requirements concerning HOS supporting documents; and measures to address concerns about harassment resulting from the mandatory use of ELDs.

This rulemaking supplements the Agency’s February 1, 2011, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and addresses issues raised by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in its 2011 decision vacating the Agency’s April 5, 2010, final rule concerning ELDs as well as subsequent statutory developments.

The proposed requirements for ELDs would improve compliance with the HOS rules. This SNPRM would, according to the FMCSA, “improve commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety and reduce the overall paperwork burden for both motor carriers and drivers by increasing the use of ELDs within the motor carrier industry, which would in turn improve compliance with the applicable HOS rules.”

Specifically, this SNPRM proposes:

(1) Requiring new technical specifications for ELDs that address statutory requirements;

(2) mandating ELDs for drivers currently using RODS;

(3) clarifying supporting document requirements so that motor carriers and drivers can comply efficiently with HOS regulations, and so that motor carriers can make the best use of ELDs and related support systems as their primary means of recording HOS information and ensuring HOS compliance; and

(4) proposing both procedural and technical provisions aimed at ensuring that ELDs are not used to harass vehicle operators.

Comments can be submitted to the FMCSA at: http://www.regulations.gov

Tags: FMCSA, HOS

Category: Featured, General Update, Management