Educating the Industry on the Electronic Logging Device Rule

The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) shared information in response to recent questions regarding the scope of the new electronic logging device (ELD) requirement by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Around the time of the 2016 NPGA Southeastern Conference in Nashville, some questions on the requirement arose as to the applicability of ELDs to industry trucks that were transported to Nashville for exhibition on the show floor.

The new regulation, 49 CFR 395.8, requires installation of ELDs in most vehicles that are mandated to prepare records of duty status (RODS). FMCSA finalized the regulation on Dec. 16, 2015, and the compliance deadline is Dec. 18, 2017. Exempt from the ELD requirement are short-haul operations, which are for drivers operating within a 100-air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location and where the driver returns daily within 12 consecutive hours.

The specific questions that arose from NPGA members referred to the long-distance transportation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) that are normally short-haul operations. For example, relocation of a CMV from one work facility to another that is farther than a 100-air-mile radius from the prior work facility; or, temporary transportation of a CMV to a demonstration or exhibition. In these situations, there are three potential exceptions:

• Driveaway-towaway operations are not required to use an ELD, provided that the vehicle driven is part of the shipment;
• ELDs are not required on CMVs older than model year 2000; and
• ELDs are not required for drivers who use paper RODS for not more than 8 days during any 30-day period.

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. The definition of a driveaway-towaway operation is available online in 49 CFR 390.5.

NPGA director of regulatory affairs Sarah Reboli told BPN that the average bobtail that goes out on deliveries every day and returns to the office later in the day does not need to be outfitted with an ELD. Instead, she noted, the rule covers “transports, [and] long-haul operators making bulk deliveries to bulk terminals.” She added that FMCSA originally proposed many technological requirements for ELDs, but NPGA and other organizations objected to many of the requirements and were able to reduce them significantly.