The Electronic Logging Device... What is it? Well, an ELD is meant to keep truckers honest when it comes to logging their hours on the jobs working the long road as an independent contractor. Specifically the point of staying honest is meant to be underline how controversial pieces of equipment throughout the industry have been all over the past five years. Luckily, the FMCSA is here to help.

It's just another reason why the FMCSA has been carefully going through beyond 1,300 public comments. All with the purpose of responding towards the proposal to change up the ELD regulation to therefore make ELDs much simpler to use.

The FMCSA has been thinking about changes in several areas, where there's been applicability to pre-2000 engines, in which case, there are many ELD malfunctions. This therefore creates the need, as well as the due process, for removing ELDs away from the agency's certification list and even the technical specifications-slash-ELD certification.

Who knows if any changes are actually going to help?

In addition to all of that, there's public feedback that asks for a self-certification process by Electronic Logging Device providers while also transitioning back to the third-party regime.

Meanwhile, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration, also known as the CVSA, is interested in initiating well-conducted roadside inspections, all while being convinced by third-party certifications. Which in themselves could show improvements in cost.

There are many nonstandard ELDs that can shift towards longer amounts of time in terms of roadside inspection.

Furthermore, the technical specifications overall change how the FMCSA thinks about the driver instead of the motor carrier. This is all apparent in changes over ELD configuration towards "an exempt" status as there are reduced administrative burdens that were raised by the trucking industry, in recent times.

At the time, modern-day ELD regulation adjustment won't quite address what can occur in the scenario of a certified ELD going haywire. All because there's not enough information being provided in the context of what had already been listed upon the FMCSA. The FMCSA has to wonder whether it would be better off removing the device from the certified device list.

In addition to that, the FMCSA is slicing their days in half for an ELD provider to respond to a notice warning, given that the device isn't compliant " in order to more timely remove an ELD … that could adversely impact highway safety,” the agency stated in its proposal. As far as the amount of days, it's being sliced from 60 days to 30 days of time to address a faulty ELD before fines are implemented. The big difficulty here is if the FMCSA can totally outlaw it from ever existing in a malicious sense.