The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Transportation made an important declaration on July 25, 2023. It announced the removal of four Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) - namely ALL TRUCKERS ELD, GOLDEN ELD, PRIMELD, and SECURE ELD - from its registered devices list. This decision stems from the devices' inability to meet the standards specified under 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A.
Consequently, these ELDs now find themselves relegated to the Revoked Devices list. Following this decision, the FMCSA will notify the motor carrier industry via email, outlining the necessary steps to adapt to these changes.
What does this mean for Motor Carriers?
Motor carriers employing these newly revoked ELDs must promptly discontinue their usage. Until a compliant replacement from the Registered Devices list is installed, paper logs or logging software can be utilized to keep track of the mandatory hours of service data. The FMCSA has set a 60-day grace period until September 23, 2023, to facilitate the replacement of these revoked ELDs with approved alternatives.
Should the ELD providers rectify the identified deficiencies, the FMCSA assures to restore these ELDs back onto the registered devices list, notifying the industry accordingly.
Guidance for Safety Officials
For the time being, safety officials are advised not to cite drivers for violations such as "No record of duty status" or "Failing to use a registered ELD," who continue to operate using the revoked ELDs. Instead, officials should ask for paper logs, logging software, or use the ELD display as a backup method to review hours of service data.
However, after September 23, 2023, non-compliance will not be tolerated. Motor carriers persisting to use the revoked devices will be deemed to be operating without an ELD. Safety officials are expected to cite and place out-of-service any such offenders, as per the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance OOS Criteria.
The FMCSA strongly advocates motor carriers to heed to these changes immediately to circumvent potential compliance issues, especially if the providers fail to address the deficiencies within the given timeframe.
For further details on ELDs and their implementation, motor carriers are directed to the FMCSA’s ELD implementation website.