Eld Exemptions Allowed By Mandate
Important ELD Exemptions Facts
It goes without saying that the regulations and the rules which govern the overall trucking industry have always had some sort of exceptions built in them. Not all the drivers or every company is pretty much the same as the one next to it. With this in mind, it is also important to note that there is not a rule that has a one-size-fits-all solution.
With this said, it is important to understand that there is quite a lot of controversy which takes place in the industry about the ELD Mandate. And, another thing that zou would have to keep in mind is that there are exemptions which have to be addressed.
Electronic logs mandate exemptions include a few different specifications and there are drivers and fleets which operate different types of businesses as well as different and older types of vehicles.
What are the Electronic Logs Mandate Exemptions?
Now, the important thing that you would have to keep in mind here is the definition of Commercial Motor Vehicle given by the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). Under its regulations, it is regarded as „any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property“. Now, there are a few different specifications that you would want to abide by.
Here they are – the vehicle has to:
#1 Be designed or to be used for the transportation of more than 8 passengers for compensation.
Be designed for the transportation of more than 15 passengers (with the driver included) and it is not used to transport these passengers for compensation;
2. Have an overall vehicle weight rating or a combination of said rating or gross weight of the vehicle of 10,001 pounds ore potentially more than that, depending on the metric that’s greater;
Be used in the proper transportation of a serious quantity of hazardous materials which require to be placarded.
Now, if we take this particular definition in mind, the FMCSA has already made quite a few exemptions to the ELD mandate. This is in consideration to the short-haul drivers and also the age of the vehicles.
The Electronic Logs Mandate Exmeptions include:
No RODS – these are drivers who use timecard exception and they do not have to keep a Record of Duty Status (RODS). This would include drivers who are taking advantage of 100 air-mile as well as 150 air-mile short-haul exemptions.
A few RODS – these are drivers who would only use RODS for less thank 8 days for a total of 30 days period. If the dirver breaks this particular short haul expcetion with just one day, they would have to use an ELD for the entire remaining of the 30 day period that they are currently in.
Drive-away or Tow-away: these are drivers as well as fleets which are scheduled to operate drive-away and to-away operations. As per the law, they are not required to use ELDs. This is due to the fact that the vehicle which is being driven is actually the product that’s being delivered.
Trucks before 2000 – if the truck is manufactured before the year 2000, they wouldn’t need an ELD. The majority of vehicles which are build before 1999 do not have a control module in the engine. This is something required for the ELD in order for it to function properly. Once you replace this old vehicle, however, with a new one, you wouldn’t be covered by the exemption and you would have to go ahead and put an ELD in place.
As you can see, there are quite a lot of different situations in which an ELD would not be required. This is something quite important and you would have to take it into account. If you are covered by those rules, you can keep on logging your HOS the old-fashioned way.
Get an ELD Regardless
That’s the thing – even when they are not mandatory, ELDs do a great job. And, of course, if you can afford to install them from a financial and a technical perspective, this is certainly something that you are better off trying out.
These are devices which would provide you with a chance to save a substantial amount of time, effort and money. A proper ELD is going to provide you with access to a lot more information compared to whatever you had before that. You will see the way your driver is operating the truck and have a direct overview of the performance of the entire fleet.
You would be able to capture hard braking, excessive and unnecessary long idling times and you would also be able to find better routes to get rid of eliminating the miles on the vehicle as well as the time spent on the road.
This is going to enable you to reduce the overall cost and spending for fuel as time goes by. ELDs are also going to help you reduce violations for reporting as well as the HOS which would lower the overall fees.
Proper Management
From a management standpoint, an ELD is absolutely invaluable. Even if you are covered by the electronic logs mandate exemptions stated above, getting one is going to prove to be absoltuely invaluable. With all the benefits that we mentioned above, it is obvious that having one is not only beneficial, it is particularly useful and will spare you a substantial amount of resources.
This is something that you would have to keep in mind. It is one of the things that you would have to keep in mind – there is absolutely no need for you to go ahead and handle all of this on your own and with the old-fashion way.
You need to make sure that everything is handled properly and that you would be able to keep proper track of the information that’s being passed through. This is going to enable you to make sure that your fleet is operated in the most efficient way and that you optimize your overall service delivery.
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