ELD Mandate- Everything You Want to Know

1. ELD Mandate: Everything You Want to Know All commercial motor vehicles in the US must now have an electronic logging device (ELD). The ELD mandate was issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to help regulate how drivers log their record of duty status while transporting shipments. And though initially the carriers had confusion regarding this mandate, now many of them have realized that it presents them with opportunities to improve safety and efficiency. Here we have mentioned the essentials of the ELD mandate that you should know: •What is an electronic logging device (ELD) and how does it work? ELDs are electronic solution that synchronize with commercial vehicles’ engines. With ELDs, there’s no chance of paperwork errors and guesswork as these devices gather and store driving data which is automatically added to an e-log. The information captured by ELD includes: driver speed, hours of service, frequency of hard braking and details on vehicle idle time. •When did the ELD mandate take full effect? The ELD decision was released by the FMCSA on December 10, 2015 with a 516-page mandate but it went into effect on December 18, 2017. •Are there specific ELDs that must be used? Though there is no specific ELD that you need to track the driver’s hours of service, the device must have a hardwired connection to the truck’s engine and it must meet all FMSCA requirements. The devices must be such that they allow both fleet managers and drivers to use tablets, smartphones and other handheld devices to see and share information. •How much does the ELD mandate cost carriers?

2. Equipping a truck with an ELD can cost you more than $500/year. However, FMCSA allows smartphone apps to serve as compliant ELDs (when they interface with the truck through a cable), thus letting you reduce the expenses and also simplifying the installation. •What are the benefits of ELDs? ELDs offer many benefits, one of them which we have already mentioned before is that it reduces the amount of paperwork that drivers and fleet managers have to manage for every trip. ELDs provide real-time driver status data which enables the dispatcher to change shipment loads, reconfigure routes and shift delivery times as needed to streamline operations. In fact, some ELDs can even provide real-time route information, using which the drivers can avoid delays caused by traffic or construction. All in all, ELD is a technologically advanced way of streamlining fleet management. Furthermore, it is great for drivers and fleet managers alike as it offers increased safety, improved communications, less room for human errors and saves them a lot of time.