Hours of Service (HoS) was introduced by the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1938 with the intent of reducing accidents caused by commercial vehicles due to driver fatigue by limiting the number of hours an operator is allowed to drive on a daily and weekly basis. Compliance with these regulations has been managed for years on paper; however, these paper logs are cumbersome, often lack complete data, and are not always completely accurate.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the successor to the Interstate Commerce Commission, announced the latest iteration of HoS, the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate, on December 16, 2015. This new regulation dictates that most commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) must be equipped with either an Automated On-Board Recorder Device (AOBRD) or an ELD solution by the end of 2017 and all CMVs will need to be fully compliant with the ELD mandate by the end of 2019. AOBRD and ELD solutions utilize electronic hardware and software to interface with the vehicle data bus to pull: VIN, Speed, Engine Hours, Engine RPM, and Odometer that is combined with vehicle inspection and driver duty status data to create automated Driver Daily Logs (DDLs). These automated DDLs are then displayed on mobile devices and are intended to enhance the accuracy of the HoS information associated with each vehicle’s driver.
The deadlines associated with this mandate are:
- December 16, 2015 – FMCSA publishes in final ELD Rule
- December 18, 2017 – Use of “Paper” Logs must switch to either an AOBRD or ELD solution
- December 16, 2019 – Drivers using AOBRD solutions must switch to an ELD solution
The ELD mandate automates the data collection and reporting mandated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) authorities. All paper logs as a primary source must be replaced by an electronic solution on or before December 18th, 2017.
Temeda offers both an AOBRD and an ELD solution for HoS that includes certified hardware and a web compliant application for mobile display devices (smartphone or tablet) that creates the automated Driver Daily Logs (DDLs). For our current customers we will be able to expand their current product solution to include AOBRD on most trucks that have already been installed. For new installations Temeda is offering both AOBRD and ELD solutions.
