KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA), DOT has requested public comment on the request for exemption from the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) rule for equipment dealers.

Comments must be received at the U.S. Department of Transportation prior to the close of the comment period on Nov. 27, 2017. The 10 trade associations who filed a request for a five-year renewable exemption from the ELD requirements are encouraging all dealers to participate by submitting comments identified in the federal register on or before Nov.27, 2017 as outlined in the enclosed Federal Register:

https://www.westerneda.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/WEDA-2017-ELD-Rule-Exemption.pdf

Overview

The ELD rule will require equipment dealers to install ELDs in all their commercial vehicles in place of written logs for tracking hours of service (HOS) for each 24-hour period beginning Dec. 18, 2017. The rule is intended to create a safer work environment for drivers, and make it easier and faster to accurately track, manage and share records of duty status (RODS) data. However, the ELD rule creates confusing and overlapping scenarios created by conflicting rules placed on equipment dealers. Depending on the state definition of harvest-and-planting season, an equipment dealer may be required to install an ELD for only the couple of months of the year when the agribusiness exemption is not in effect. This will cause confusion and create an overly complex regulatory framework that poses an undue burden on equipment dealers and their customers without any measurable safety benefit. Because of the complex and confusing overlap, many dealers will install and utilize ELDs when unnecessary to avoid harsh penalties including thousands of dollars in fines and potential shutdown orders. Without an exemption from the ELD rule, the result will be severely diminished hours of operation, and consequently, reduced responsiveness to their customers.

The participating associations involved with the application for exemption have agreed to sponsor an informational webinar on November 9, 2017 to review the new ELD requirements in the Federal regulations.  More information is available at https://www.equipmentdealer.org/ and dealers can register for the webinar at this link.

The 10 trade associations who filed the application for exemption are the Deep South Equipment Dealers Assn., Equipment Dealers Assn., Far West Equipment Dealers Assn., Midwest-SouthEastern Equipment Dealers Assn., Minnesota-South Dakota Equipment Dealers Assn, North Dakota Implement Dealers Assn., Northeast Equipment Dealers Assn., The Ohio Equipment Distributors Assn., Western Equipment Dealers Assn. and the United Equipment Dealers Assn. 

To review a copy of the exemption application, please visit: https://www.westerneda.com/equipment-dealer-associations-request-exemption-from-the-electronic-logging-device-rule/