What happened
On Sept. 30, FMCSA issued a final disposition denying the Federation of Professional Truckers’ application for an ELD exemption. The group asked that professional drivers be allowed to choose manually prepared records of duty status instead of an electronic logging device. FMCSA reviewed the application and public comments but concluded that the proposal did not establish an equivalent or greater level of safety. Commercial Carrier Journal reported that the docket received 901 comments, most from individuals supporting the request.
What drivers should do
The practical result is that the federal ELD requirements did not change. A driver who is required to use an ELD cannot voluntarily switch to paper logs because of this petition. Existing limited exceptions remain separate, including qualifying short-haul operations, drivers who need paper RODS no more than eight days in any 30-day period, certain driveaway-towaway operations, and vehicles manufactured before model year 2000. Before relying on an exception, the carrier should verify every condition and retain the supporting records.
Why this matters to our community
An ELD malfunction is also not a permanent paper-log exemption. If the malfunction prevents accurate HOS recording, the driver must notify the carrier in writing within 24 hours, reconstruct the current day and previous seven days when needed, and use compliant paper RODS until the device is restored. The carrier generally has eight days to repair, replace or service the ELD unless FMCSA grants an extension. Keep blank graph-grid logs and the required ELD information in the truck, check the device before dispatch, and document the malfunction and repair. Useful English terms include record of duty status, manual RODS, ELD exemption, short-haul exception, malfunction, reconstruct, supporting documents and extension request.