Transport Bill Would Require FMCSA to Post Final Rule for ELDs by Jan. 30

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration would be required to issue its final rule that all trucks have electronic logging devices by Jan. 30 under the transportation appropriations bill moving through the Senate.

Congress in 2012 mandated that trucks must have the devices, which can monitor compliance with hours-of-service rules, within two years after the rule is published.

Congress told FMCSA to issue the ELD rule by October 2013, but the agency was delayed in implementing it by a legal challenge later resolved.

The appropriations bill that was approved June 5 by that Senate committee, says that the National Transportation Safety Board considers FMCSA’s actions to address this safety issue “unacceptable.”

The bill also says that, according to FMCSA, the ELD rule is expected to “reduce crashes by fatigued drivers, and prevent approximately 20 fatalities and 434 injuries each year.”

The bill now goes to the full Senate for a vote later this month.