ELD Compliance For Commerical Trucking
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued the “MAP-21” bill in 2016 to improve CMV safety. Any vehicle with a powerplant manufactured after the year 2000 must be made ELD compliant. Electronic logging devices are used to provide secure transfer of data, record the engine’s operation and allow the driver to select a duty status. The ELD mandate is in effect for the following vehicles:
- Vehicles with gross weights of 5 tons or more
- Vehicles transporting hazardous material
- Passenger vehicles for greater than 8 persons
Understanding FMCSA Violation Codes
A Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) score is used by the FMCSA to enforce safety for drivers and owners. CSA scores are measured on a scale of 0-100 with lower scores being desirable. Company CSA scores are available through public records and can be leveraged by insurance companies to increase or decrease premiums. The CSA score is calculated using the following categories:
- Unsafe driving
- Crash indicator
- HOS compliance
- Vehicle maintenance
- Controlled substances
- Hazardous materials compliance
- Driver fitness
Fines for Failing to be ELD Compliant
The average cost of an ELD fine is around $3,000. Failure to report and record information can cost your company between $1,000 - $7,000. LTL truckers and long-haul truckers can face fines greater than $10,000 for commercial regulation violations. Fines for hazardous material violations can be over $100,000. In addition to fines, drivers may also be placed out-of-service which will damage your CSA score, cost you money in lost time and sacrifice customer satisfaction.
