With so many products promising ELD mandate compliance flooding the market, a lot of owner-operators are left wondering what these tools do, and which one(s) they they need to do to comply with the law.
Webinar Recap – Watch The Recording!
During this webinar, we explained the differences between these compliance tools, which devices are compliant with the ELD mandate. Our goal was to helped you find your best fit while making sure you have the answers you need to stay ahead of the law.
Click the image below to access a recording of our ELOGs, ELDs, and AOBRDs; WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? webinar that was held on April 12, 2017:
Questions & Answers
Q. The push-back from our owner-operators is lessening, but I’m still hitting a wall when it comes to a few ELD rumours and myths. In regards to personal use, what or how will the unassigned miles be accounted for?
A. Unassigned driving events are tracked at the truck level. When a driver logs in and connects to the DashLink in that truck, they’ll be prompted to claim or reject any unassigned driving time. If they claim it, it’s added to their logs. If they reject it, an administrator will either need to prompt someone else to claim the driving time, or annotate the event for an inspection.
Q. Will drivers be able to change the start of the day from midnight to noon?
A. Currently we only offer midnight – midnight cycles, but I’ve added a note to our developers to include noon – noon in the future. If you email [email protected] they can offer a few tricks that will help in the meantime.
Q. Our drivers stay within the 100 air mile radius most of the time each day, would we need ELDs? We do drive longer distances once in a while, but would paper logs be sufficient for those and for how long?
A. If you stay within the 100-air mile radius all the time then you are exempt. As soon as you go outseide of the 100 air miles, you are required to run an ELD. The other exemption is the 8 in 30 rule. If you are keeping logs for no more than 8 days in a 30 day rolling period — not calendar month — you are also exempt from running an ELD.
The biggest thing for you to look at is how you are currently required to keep your hours of service. If you’re running short-haul, you are likely only keeping a time card and not a full record of duty status. The 8 in 30 rule applies to people who keep RODS for the 8 days. So if you are running long haul for more than 8 days in that 30 day period, then you will need an ELD. As soon as you go over that 8 days, you’ll need an ELD.
For more details about exemptions, please click here.
Q. The FMCSA has a list of ELD providers, but since this is a self-certification process, how can you tell which providers are legit or just jumping in due to the mandate and have little to no previous ELD experience?
A. The ELD self-certification list is exactly that, a list where vendors have said that their device is compliant with the FMCSA’s guidelines. It’s important to note that the FMCSA does not vet, endorse, or approve any device on this list. That being said, just because they are on the list does not mean they are legit at all. A lot of people have just jumped on the list to profit off of the mandate. Take a look at some of the vendors on there and their materials, so that you can be the judge of who is legit and who is not.
It’s worth noting here that a lot of the major companies have not listed yet, as they’ve taken the time to build a fully-compliant ELD. BigRoad has been submitting our application to self-certify at the end of this week and should be listed in the coming weeks — because we don’t know how long the FMCSA takes to view the documentation.
Q. Will the BigRoad Mobile App be accepted as a ‘grandfathered’ device until the December 16, 2019 deadline? And how will enforcement recognize this after December 18, 2017? What will I need to qualify for the ‘grandfather’ clause in the ELD mandate?
A. No, the BigRoad Mobile App is an electronic logbook app, and no electronic logbook app on its own is compliant with the upcoming mandate. In order to comply, you will need an engine-connected ELD or AOBRD. Something that plugs into a vehicle’s ECM to automatically generate RODS.
In order to take advantage of the grandfather clause, you can install an AOBRD, which is more flexible than an ELD, before December 18th 2017, and use it as an AOBRD until December 16, 2019. BigRoad’s DashLink can be installed and used as an AOBRD, and when you are ready you can make the move to the more restrictive ELD (before the December 16, 2019 deadline). It can be done with a simple software update, there is no need to purchase new hardware. Once you have this installed you can make the switch anytime, either wait until December 2019, or switch sooner. It will completely depend on you and your comfort level.
Enforcement agents already know what the AOBRD logs look like and have been trained on how to fully inspect them. The FMCSA is currently working with enforcement agents to train them on ELD inspections.
Q. What is the total cost for each truck/driver with BigRoad. Are there any hidden fees at startup?
A. For a single operator/single asset it’s $25 per month. There are no installation or maintenance fees, just a simple one-year contract. There are no hidden fees, but we do require one year upfront payment.
Q. Will BigRoad be considered an E-Log?
A. It depends on which BigRoad solution you are using, and how you refer to E-Logs. The BigRoad Mobile App is an electronic logbook that helps you manage your hours-of-service, but on it’s own will not be compliant with the ELD mandate. I think the confusion here is that many electronic logbooks are referred to as eLogs, but a lot of people also use the term eLog to refer to engine-connected devices.
In order to comply with the ELD mandate by December 18th, 2017, you will need to have an AOBRD or ELD installed in your vehicle. BigRoad’s DashLink is an engine-conencted solution that connects to the BigRoad Mobile App, and if you have a DashLink installed by the December 18, 2017 deadline then you will be compliant with the ELD mandate.
Q. We use trucks and gooseneck trailers to move equipment from jobsites — generally within 300 miles of our office. Our trucks range from 13,200 GVWR to 26,000 GVWR, and trailers range from 9250 GVWR to 30,000 GVWR. How is the electronic log evolution going to effect us and what should we do in order to prepare? Our average work day consists of 1-2 hours of driving to the worksite, 14-16 hours at the worskite, then 1-2 hours of driving back from to our facility.
A. As a rule of thumb, if you are curretnly required to keep RODS, then you will need to run an ELD–unless you qualify for one of the exemptions we outlined during the webinar. CMVs are classified with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 lbs or more. So it doens’t look like you’ll get a weight exemption. You’re driving outside of the short-haul exemption (which is 100 air miles), so you won’t qualify for that exemption wither. For your lighter vehicles, if you still want to keep RODS, you can do so with the BigRoad Mobile App and have DashLink running in the rest of your vehicles. So all of your drivers can be under one solution!
How BigRoad Can Help
Get your fleet on the path to compliance with our DashLink ELD – the easiest and most affordable ELD compliance solution available! Request a demo to see DashLink in action today!
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