TruckingOffice ELD (electronic logging device) is in development now

TruckingOffice ELD coming soonDecember is right around the corner.  We’ve got the government mandate to get an electronic logging device (ELD) into our cabs by then.  TruckingOffice ELD is now in the works.

What is the ELD Mandate?

The electronic logging device (ELD) mandate is a federal regulation that requires drivers of commercial vehicles to use ELDs in their vehicles. ELDs are electronic devices that automatically record information about driver activity and the operation of commercial vehicles for Hours of Service (HOS) reporting purposes. This includes mileage data, engine hours, location, date and time, and identification information about the driver, vehicle and motor carrier. It does this by syncing with the vehicle engine and recording all driving activities throughout the day. The FMCSA says the purpose of the new ELD law is to promote safety and accountability in the trucking industry. It is also designed to deal with the issue of paper logs being falsified, which enables drivers to work longer hours than they are allowed to by law.

The ELD mandate was announced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in December 2015. It became law in February 2016 and the compliance date was set as December 2017. That means by December 2017, all commercial trucks must shift from paper logs to certified, registered electronic logging devices in order to be compliant. For commercial vehicles that were equipped with Automatic On-Board Recording Devices (AOBRDs), which are devices that record a driver’s HOS, the deadline for upgrading the devices to meet the new ELD standards is set for December 2019. 

Why Are We Working on a TruckingOffice ELD?

If you use TruckingOffice Trucking Management Software, you know that we are committed to giving truckers the best value in trucking management software.  We’ve focused our modules to trucker’s needs – not what some accountant says they need or a programmer thinks that a trucker might want.  We’ve got a trucker on the line in every discussion about our software development.  We talk to truckers every day about how they use TruckingOffice software and ways to improve it.

We want that same focus on our ELD application.  We’re putting a lot of effort into the project to make it simple and easy to use.

We’ve got a vision of how this app will work:

  • Streamlined
  • Efficient
  • Effective

What more do you want?

Our Goal:  DOT Compliant

Have you seen the DOT rules and regulations about the ELD?  Here’s the link, just in case you need something for insomnia… but it’s 126 pages of triple column government-speak.  You sure you want to read that?

We didn’t either.  But we’ve been going through it to determine what a program needs to be to be compliant.  Why is this important to us?  Because it’s important to truckers.  Buy a program now that isn’t compliant with the DOT standards and it doesn’t matter.  It will matter in December.

We don’t want you to buy a product now and discover that you’ve wasted your money. So we’re putting in the time to determine the minimum standards.

What Do We Know Right Now?

The basics we know right now are that we have three sources of data going into the ELD:

  • The truck via mechanical link
  • The driver
  • GPS signals.

The data can be read by

  • The driver
  • Law enforcement
  • Fleet manager or owner-operator.

That seems pretty simple.  Why did the government have to write 126 pages?

We’ll let you know.  We’re still reading.

But if you’re thinking about December and what you’re looking for in your cab, keep us in mind.

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