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Hard enforcement of ELD mandate begins in April

On Behalf of | Mar 26, 2018 | Motor Vehicle Accidents |

Commercial truck drivers in Virginia, as well as their employers, probably know that they are required to adopt electronic logging devices for their vehicles. This mandate was implemented by the U.S. Department of Transportation back in December 2017. So far, truckers have been allowed some flexibility during this time of soft enforcement.

For instance, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been conducting inspections of trucks and noting down violations of the ELD mandate. However, the results of these inspections do nothing to affect a driver’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability scores. Roughly 4 percent of those truckers who were inspected were cited for non-compliance.

Starting April 1, 2018, the FMCSA will begin the period of hard enforcement and issue out-of-service and return-to-duty orders to those truckers guilty of non-compliance. After stopping service for 10 hours, truckers who can log their duty status with a paper log will be allowed back on the road to complete their deliveries. However, they will be required to install an ELD before their next dispatch. Truckers who haul livestock and agricultural products have been granted a reprieve from the ELD mandate until June 18.

When a motor vehicle accident involves a truck, victims could suffer traumatic brain injuries and even death. Unfortunately, some commercial truck drivers cause accidents because fatigue makes them inattentive. Negligence on the trucker’s part gives the victim, the grounds to file a claim. Accident attorneys can build up such claims with the help of investigators, medical experts, and other third parties. They could even use ELD records to prove how overworked the defendant was.