ELD Supporting Documents

USED TO VERIFY ON-DUTY TIME

The mandatory compliance date for installing Electronic Logging Devices is rapidly approaching. This changeover from paper to electronic logs has been discussed at great length. However, there are other changes related to this event that haven’t received as much attention. For example, the rules regarding the retention of supporting documents have been revised for ELDs.

Although ELDs automatically record driving time, motor carriers will be required to retain up to eight supporting documents for every 24 hour period to verify the driver’s on-duty time. These documents must be retained for six months. These are documents that are generated in the normal course of conducting business and can come from these categories:

• Bills of lading, itineraries, schedules or documents that indicate the origin and destination of each trip.
• Dispatch records, trip records, or equivalent documents
• Expense receipts related to any on-duty not-driving time
• Electronic mobile communication records reflecting communications transported through a fleet management system
• Payroll records, settlement sheets, or equivalent documents that indicate what and how a driver was paid

Supporting documents must contain the following elements:

• Driver name or identification number. The unit number can be used if it can be linked to the driver
• Date
• Location
• Time

If there are more than eight documents for a 24 hour period, the motor carrier must retain the first and last documents for that day, and six other documents. If there are fewer than eight documents which include all of these elements, then a document that contains all of the elements except the “Time” is considered a supporting document and the motor carrier must retain them.

For more information on this and other ELD questions, download these frequently asked questions.

ELD Roadside Compliance

OUT-OF-SERVICE CRITERIA CHANGES

Among the changes in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2017 out-of-service criteria are items specific to ELDs. This is a list of the specific changes:

• If a driver/carrier is using an electronic logging device that is not authorized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration per 395.22(a), the driver/carrier is considered to have no record of duty status.

If a driver is unable to produce or transfer the data from an automatic on- board recording device or electronic logging device to an authorized safety official as required by 395.15(b) or 395.24(d), the driver is considered to have no record of duty status.

If a driver indicates use of a special driving category as defined by 395.28(a) when not involved in that activity, the driver’s log is considered to be false.

If a driver with a malfunctioning automatic on-board recording device or electronic logging device fails to reconstruct logs for the current twenty- four (24)-hour period and the previous seven (7) days as required by 395.15(f) or 395.34(a)(2), the driver is considered to not have the previous seven (7) days of logs.

If a carrier does not repair a malfunctioning electronic logging device within eight (8) days, or obtain an extension from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Division Administrator as required by 395.34(d), the driver is considered to have no record of duty status.

If a driver does not log into the electronic logging device as required (see 395.22(e)), the driver is considered to have no record of duty status.

If a driver is required to have an electronic logging device and the vehicle is not equipped with an electronic logging device (or an automatic on-board recording device until December 17, 2019), the driver is considered to have no record of duty status

National Driver Register

AN OPTIONAL PRE-HIRE CHECK

The National Driver Register (NDR) is a computerized database of information about drivers who have had their licenses revoked or suspended, or who have been convicted of serious traffic violations such as driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs. State motor vehicle agencies provide NDR with the names of individuals who have lost their privilege or who have been convicted of a serious traffic violation. When a person applies for a driver’s license the state checks to see if the name is on the NDR file. If a person has been reported to the NDR as a problem driver, the license may be denied.

The records maintained at the NDR consist of identification information including name, date of birth, gender, driver license number, and reporting State. All of the substantive information, the reason for the suspension or conviction and associated dates, resides in the reporting State.

State driver licensing officials query the NDR to determine if an individual’s license or privilege has been withdrawn by any other State. Other users have access to NDR for transportation safety purposes and this includes employers checking on an applicant. All 50 States and the District of Columbia participate in the NDR. The system is also referred to as the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS).

You can access the National Driver Register at this link.