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The new mandate from the FMCSA will require commercial drivers of trucks and buses to use electronic logging devices instead of logging their hours by hand.

Electronic Logging Devices Required for Commercial Trucks and Buses

Many people are seriously injured or even killed when they are involved in accidents with commercial trucks and buses. In a number of these cases, the driver of the semi-truck or commercial bus is fatigued. In order to combat the problem of fatigued driving by commercial truck and bus drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, announced a new requirement for all truck and bus drivers driving commercial vehicles manufactured after 2000 to install and use electronic logging devices, or ELDs.

Reasons for the ELD Mandate

The main reason for the FMCSA’s ELD mandate is the inherent problems with logging hours of service by hand. In some cases, commercial drivers have kept two sets of books or have altered their paper entries in order to game the system. The federal government has strict hours of service rules in place that limit the number of hours a driver can drive during a day and a week. When a driver drives beyond the allowed hours, they run the risk of causing catastrophic accidents due to being fatigued.

How the Electronic Logging Devices Work

The devices automatically log the number of miles the commercial trucks or buses run as well as the times when the engines are running. In order to monitor the hours, the number of miles, the speed of the vehicle and the times when the engine is running can then be compared. The devices are thought to be much less susceptible to tampering by the commercial drivers than paper logs.

When ELDs Will Be Required

The mandate is effective at the end of January with compliance mandatory within two years. It is hoped that the requirement for electronic logging will reduce accidents caused by trucker fatigue, a common basis of negligence for a personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas to claim in commercial trucking accidents. Hopefully, a reduction of these often catastrophic accidents will result from the implementation of this new law.