Federal officials in the U.S. recently confirmed that drivers who are cited at roadside for not complying with the ELD rule after Dec. 18 will be issued a “no points cite” which will not affect the Safety Measurement System that feeds into CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) until April 1.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials shared this news during the Southern Regional Road Show, reports Heavy Duty Trucking.
In late August, FMCSA and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced a phased-in approach to the ELD mandate and said it would delay implementing out-of-service criteria related to ELDs until April 1, 2018. Each jurisdiction would have discretion as to whether they issue citations in the beginning.
Jon Dierberger, FMCSA field administrator, said violations cited at roadside for not having an ELD through April 1, there will be no SMS points impact. He confirmed to HDT that this was in a recent internal memo.
Anne Collins, associate administrator, FMCSA field operations, confirmed to HDT that this was a recent “corollary” to the previous announcement that ELD citations would not result in out of service orders, in order to be “clear and consistent nationwide.”
Lane Kidd, managing director of The Alliance for Driver Safety & Security, pointed out in an email response to HDT that this doesn’t mean there won’t be repercussions for not having an ELD.
“Tickets may not levy points against the driver, but the fines attached to those tickets will likely cost the drivers more than the price of an ELD, so I’d hardly call this announcement a win for anybody holding out on buying an ELD.” The Trucking Alliance, as it’s known, is a proponent of ELDs and other truck safety technologies, such as collision mitigation and speed limiters.
Full HDT story here.