Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration January 2, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces that the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. (OOIDA) has requested an exemption from the electronic logging device (ELD) requirements for motor carriers considered to be a small transportation trucking business. OOIDA request this exemption to allow small trucking businesses that do not have a carrier safety rating of ``unsatisfactory,'' and can document a proven history of safety performance with no attributable at-fault crashes, to complete paper records of duty status (RODS) instead of using an ELD device. OOIDA believes that the exemption would not have any adverse impacts on operational safety as motor carriers and drivers would remain subject to the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations as well as the requirements to maintain paper RODS. FMCSA requests public comment on OOIDA's application for exemption.

FMCSA announces that American Disposal Services, Inc. (ADS) has requested an exemption from the requirement that a motor carrier install and require each of its drivers to use an electronic logging device (ELD) to record the driver's hours-of-service (HOS) no later than December 18, 2017. ADS further requested an exemption from the required use of paper records of duty status (RODS). ADS requests these exemptions for all of its operators of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in their company and their affiliates. FMCSA would extend the exemption to all carriers with similar operational scenarios if the exemption were granted in entirety or in part. ADS advises that ELD systems cannot accurately record driving time for a CMV that stops at each house along their trash and recycling residential routes, with the driver often leaving the vehicle. ADS believes that the exemptions, if granted, will achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent the exemptions. FMCSA requests public comment on the ADS application for exemptions.