GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association today expressed disappointment that its exemption request to the ELD mandate has been denied.
The request was submitted eight months ago to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
“We are puzzled and disappointed at the response from the agency. For months, the FMCSA has been granting exemptions to other organizations, some not even actually in trucking, but relying on trucks for their businesses,” said Todd Spencer (shown above), executive vice president of OOIDA.
OOIDA said in its request that small-business truckers that have already proven their ability to operate safely “should not be subject to purchasing costly, unproven and uncertified devices.”
OOIDA had requested a five-year exemption for motor carriers classified as small businesses according to the Small Business Administration and with a proven safety history with no attributable at-fault crashes, and who do not have a Carrier Safety Rating of “Unsatisfactory.”
“Congress is taking notice that the mandate was not ready for prime time,” said Spencer. There are numerous legislative proposals that would provide relief from the mandate and we’re hoping Congress moves forward with them.”
Among the numerous concerns cited in the request, the issue of self-certification of vendors is one of the biggest issues brought up by OOIDA.
FMCSA has stated that they do not know if the self-certified ELD’s listed on their website fulfill regulatory requirements in the mandate, according to OOIDA.
“Most small-business motor carriers can ill afford to make these purchases only to learn later that the ELD is non-compliant. Yet they are required to do so or risk violation,” said Spencer.
A five-year exemption would provide necessary time for ELD manufacturers to be fully vetted by the agency, which would alleviate small-business motor carriers from learning that they purchased a device that could damage their vehicles electronic control module or be hacked, stated the group in a news release.
OOIDA is part of a diverse, outspoken coalition of industry representatives that has come out against the mandate.
The ELD mandate is estimated to cost impacted stakeholders more than $2 billion annually, making it one of the most expensive federal transportation rulemakings over the last decade, says OOIDA. “This is a massive unfunded mandate that provides no safety, economic, or productivity benefits for most ensnared by the mandate.”
The FMCSA’s mandate requires that truck drivers use ELDs to track their driving and non-driving activities even though such devices can only track movement and location of a vehicle. OOIDA contends that requiring electronic monitoring devices on commercial vehicles does not advance safety since they are no more reliable than paper logbooks for recording compliance with Hours of Service regulations.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association represents the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The association currently has more than 160,000 members nationwide.
OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the Greater Kansas City, Missouri, area.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
