The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration new Electronic Logging Device requirements go into effect December 18. However, the agency provided a 90-day waiver for agricultural commodity and livestock transporters. But that 90-day waiver will not include transporters of farm supplies.
 
ELD systems synchronize with a vehicle's engine to more easily and accurately record driving time for hours of service requirements. The ELD rule applies to most motor carriers and drivers currently required to maintain records of duty status (RODS) per Part 395, 49 CFR 395.8(a). To ease the transition to ELDs, FMCSA has announced that any violations cited during the time period of December 18 to April 1, 2018, will only receive a fine and not count against a carrier's Safety Measurement Systems (SMS) scores.
 
 
FMCSA also announced that in advance of the Dec. 18, 2017, implementation of the ELD rule, and to further facilitate the transition to the rule by motor carriers, the agency will be providing guidance related to enforcement procedures during the ELD transition. These will include a 90-day temporary waiver from the ELD requirement for transporters of agricultural commodities, formal guidance specifically pertaining to the existing Hours-of-Service exemption for the agricultural industry, and guidance on the "personal conveyance" provision.
 
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