Guess what day it is! You wife’s birthday? Well maybe. Your anniversary? If it is then we hope you’re prepared…But, actually, it’s the ELD compliance deadline day. We hope you have ELDs installed in your trucks or you could have some penalties to face.
While some truckers consider the ELD mandate to be positive, many drivers feel negatively towards it. Some drivers even said they would quit if the ELD mandate took place. However, all we can do today is wait see how it will affect the trucking industry.
Today Is The ELD Compliance Deadline
If you don’t have an ELD device yet, you might wanna go ahead and order one as soon as possible, even though there is a major shortage affecting the nation. Amil Freight has a great ELD/AOBRD device with instructional demos to teach you how to use it.
Now, you don’t need to worry if you don’t have an ELD today because the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has given you a bit of time to comply with the mandate with their out-of-service-criteria (OOSC).
Under this criteria you have until April 1, 2018 to have an ELD device installed before you will be placed out of service. But this doesn’t mean you can get by without having an ELD until then.
Beginning today, December 18, roadside personal and inspectors will start checking vehicles for ELDS and reserve the right to issue expensive citations if you don’t have one. You could get away with a warning or you could get ticketed. It will all depend on who pulls you over and how lucky you are today.
Also, if you have a grandfathered AOBRD or automatic onboard recording device that was installed before today then you have until December 16, 2019 to switch to an ELD device. So, lucky you, enjoy your extra time.
ELDs are here today leaving us with two options. We can quit or look at the positives and we’re choosing to look at the positives because ELDs actually have some pretty good benefits. For example, they will reduce paperwork.
As a trucker with an ELD, you can say goodbye to your paper logbook because your ELD will automatically record your miles traveled per jurisdiction. You won’t have to record your odometer reading every time you cross a state line or manually record your trips by hand. Also, this information will make it easier to complete your IFTA return.
Then back at the office you and your secretary won’t have to spend hours processing and entering this information into a computer for HOS compliance because it will all be stored in one convenient location online.
Your dispatcher will also be able to track your rig live! This will allow them to provide instantly check calls, find a shop nearby if you break down, provide more accurate ETAs without distracting you, and more.
Do You Have Your ELD?
We hope you already have your ELD, but if you don’t you have a few months to get one before you will be placed out of service. Please let us know how this compliance deadline is affecting you and share your thoughts about the ELD mandate in the comment section below. Visit ExpressTruckTax for more trucking blogs.