Who Needs An ELD? Apex Capital and KeepTruckin Have the Answers

Are you exempt from the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate?

The ELD mandate goes from talk to action at the end of this year. The deadline for Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) on commercial vehicles is officially December 18, 2017. That’s three years after the FMCSA made its initial announcement about permanently replacing handwritten logs detailing a driver’s driving time and hours of service with a computerized logging system.

Although much information has been published, there continues to be a lot of discussion about exemptions to the ELD rule. Specifically, who is exempt from using electronic logging devices? KeepTruckin has provided us with some clear answers to the pressing question.

Is your fleet exempt from the ELD rule?

The final ELD rule does apply to most commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, including unique situations such as agricultural carrying fleets, vehicles carrying livestock, and oil field drivers. But there are four exemptions. If you qualify for any of these, you are exempt from using an ELD.

• Trucks with 2000 Model Year Engines and Older
  If the engine model year is 2000 or older, the CMV is exempt from using an ELD. This 2000 cut off was put into place because most vehicles manufactured prior to that date do not have an engine control module (ECM), which is needed for ELDs. The model year 2000 engine or older ruling applies no matter the model year of the truck itself. However, if a truck’s model year is older than 2000, yet the engine model year is newer than 2000, the ELD mandate stands. In that case, there is no exemption.

• Driveaway-Towaway Operations
  If you are a towaway driver and delivering a CMV is part of the shipment, you don’t need to have an ELD. The towaway drivers who deliver a truck don’t actually own the vehicle, and therefore are not mandated to install an ELD in it.

• Drivers Who Don’t Maintain RODS
  Drivers not required to maintain Record of Duty Status (RODS) do not need to have electronic logging devices. This ELD rule exemption includes drivers who use the 100 air-mile and 150 air-mile short-haul exceptions.

• Drivers Who Maintain RODS for Less Than 8 Days
  If a driver maintains RODS for less than 8 days in a 30-day rolling period, he or she doesn’t need an electronic logging device. For instance, drivers who use the short-haul exception sometimes drive outside of the exemption radius. According to the ELD mandate though, if they are logging for less than 8 days in a 30-day cycle, they are exempt from the ELD rule.

In other words, if the driver breaks the short-haul exception less than 8 times in a 30-day cycle, they don’t need an ELD. If, however, the driver breaks this exception more than 8 times in a 30-day period, the driver will need an ELD for the remainder of that 30-day cycle.

There you have it. Those are the four exceptions to the ELD rule. Let’s summarize for clarity. The ELD mandate does apply to most CMV drivers. However, the ELD rule doesn’t apply to:

• Trucks with model year 2000 engines or older
• Towaway drivers
• Drivers who don’t need to maintain RODS
• Drivers who maintain logs for less than 8 days in a 30-day cycle

Yet, even though some drivers and vehicles don’t need ELDs, fleets are adopting ELDs because of their various benefits. ELDs are known to reduce operational costs, improve efficiency, and increase profits.

A Discounted ELD Solution

In March freight factoring leader Apex Capital Corp partnered with KeepTruckin, a top-shelf ELD and fleet management provider to offer its clients a discounted ELD solution. Trusted by over 15,000 fleets and 400,000 drivers, KeepTruckin is rated the number one logbook app for Android™ and IOS®. KeepTruckin’s ELDs can also lower trucking companies’ costs by reducing the administrative work that comes with filing IFTA reports, improving CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) scores, and avoiding violations.

Apex is always client-minded, so providing a discounted ELD solution is another way we stay focused on our valued customer service. KeepTruckin’s ELD joins the long list of Apex’s client services. When you factor with Apex, you get a fast and flexible cash flow solution for small to medium-sized trucking companies, a competitive fuel discount program, free credit checks and self-funding, free unlimited access to our exclusive load board, NextLOAD.com, free online Account Management Portal (AMP) with 24/7 access, and many more benefits.