A federal mandate requiring nearly all truck operators operating in the U.S. to use electronic logging devices to comply with hours of service rules has been upheld in court, meaning the scheduled December 18, 2017 compliance date remains effective, CCJ magazine reports.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal court overseeing the case, voted to keep the mandate in place, securing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ELD rule.
The decision does not change the rule’s exemption for pre-2000 year-model trucks, which are allowed to operate without an ELD.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a lawsuit in an attempt to have the mandate overturned. But the court rejected OOIDA’s argument that the rule is “arbitrary or capricious” or violates truckers’ Fourth Amendment rights to privacy. The court also dismissed the plaintiff’s notion the rule didn’t meet standards set by Congress for an ELD mandate.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals – considered the highest court in the U.S. next to the Supreme Court – is the same court that tossed out FMCSA’s 2010-published ELD mandate on the grounds that the rule didn’t do enough to protect truckers from harassment by carriers via the devices.
In Canada, a universal ELD mandate is on track possibly for a late 2019 time frame. More details are expected once Transport Canada issues its proposed rule in Gazette I – likely in mid to late 2017.