Federal Electronic Logging Device Compliance Deadline Update

(December 18, 2017) — The compliance deadline for Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) is today, December 18, 2017. The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) has received questions about a rumored delay to the compliance deadline. The claim is that the Presidential Administration intends to publish guidance to local law enforcement recommending that while citations could be issued for failure to install and utilize ELDs by the December 18 deadline, local law enforcement could delay fines associated with the citations until April 2018. However, the Presidential Administration or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) have not published any such delay notice. The implementation timeline and additional information about ELDs are available at the FMCSA website.

ELDs connect with a commercial motor vehicle engine to automatically record driving time to ensure adherence to Hours-of-Service regulations. ELDs do not change or alter Hours-of-Service regulations or driving time limits. ELDs are required for all commercial motor vehicles, but there are several exemptions.

ELDs are not required for:

• Short-haul operations, which are drivers operating within a 100 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location and where the driver returns daily within 12 consecutive hours;
• Driveaway-towaway operations, provided that the vehicle driven is part of the shipment;
• Commercial motor vehicles (CMV) older than model year 2000; and
• Drivers who use paper RODS for not more than 8 days during any 30 day period.

Please note that the driveaway-towaway exception would be applicable for relocating a CMV to another work location, but would not cover transportation of a CMV to a demonstration or exhibition.