In a recent post (read in full here), we discussed proposed Federal legislation that would affect California commercial transportation companies by extending the deadline to comply with an electronic logging device (“ELD”) mandate.
The amendment to delay compliance until 2018 was rejected in a House vote last week. In other words, instead of having until September 2018 to comply with the mandate, trucking companies will still be required to do so by December 18, 2017.
Unless you are exempt from this mandate, you need to be sure that you understand and comply with the requirements under the ELD mandate. This means that the vehicles in your fleet should be equipped with certified, registered ELD’s. You should have user accounts set up, and your drivers should understand the types of supporting documents they need to keep. If these and the other elements required under the ELD mandate are not in place yet, you need to take swift action so that you meet the December 18 deadline.
The ELD mandate was put in place to address concerns that drivers were on the road too long and subjected to harassment or job termination if they took necessary breaks. The mandate is an attempt to make the roads safer for everyone.
However, as discussed in our previous post which can be read in full here, compliance will be costly, particular carriers with large fleets. Considering how much money is on the line and the consequences of non-compliance, carriers would be wise to avoid any missteps by consulting an attorney who understands industry regulations and has experience navigating the legal system on behalf of transportation and logistics companies.