The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has clarified how the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate will be enforced beginning April 1, 2018, when “full enforcement” begins.
Starting on that date:
- Drivers who do not have an ELD when required will be placed out of service (OOS). The OOS order will remain in effect for 10 hours for truck drivers or 8 hours for drivers of passenger-carrying vehicles.
- At the end of the OOS period, the driver will be allowed to travel to the next scheduled stop using paper logs, and should not be dispatched again without an ELD.
- If the driver is dispatched again without an ELD, he or she may be placed OOS again and “the motor carrier will be subject to further enforcement action,” the FMCSA says.
Also starting April 1, 2018, any ELD violations recorded on roadside inspection reports will count against the driver’s and carrier’s scores in the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) system.