Photos from Level I inspections in Virginia two days after the ELD mandate soft-enforcement period ended.

A trucking company that hauls loads for a federal laboratory has requested an exemption from the electronic logging device rule, according to a document scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on April 4.

With the ELD Mandate deadline looming, fleets are understandably focused on ensuring they’re compliant. But many fleets are planning to minimally comply – for them, ELDs will always be a cost center. For fleets taking a long-term view, however, ELDs can mean profit.

Investor interest in trucking technology remains strong, as venture capital firms have recently put a total of $100 million into two companies that seek to upgrade the way data is used to ensure driver compliance, monitor vehicles and make fleet operations more efficient.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued revised guidance permitting motor carriers that were using automatic onboard recording device software prior to the effective date of the electronic logging device mandate to add trucks to their fleet without having to update those new trucks to electronic logging device software until mid-December 2019.

Several lawmakers are calling for an extension of the electronic logging device waiver granted to livestock haulers, who were given temporary reprieve from the mandate in late December.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fleets can promote smooth roadside inspections of electronic logs by ensuring that their drivers understand the devices installed in their trucks and keep proper documentation in the cab, enforcement and technology experts said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is allowing carriers that have deployed electronic logging devices from J.J. Keller & Associates to temporarily revert to paper driver logs until Feb. 28 as the technology supplier works to resolve technical issues with its ELDs.

More than 4,000 comments were filed in response to a petition that seeks a five-year exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s electronic logging device rule for small carriers, but whether any contained strong enough arguments to overturn Congress’ intent in adopting the rule is an open question.