GRAIN VALLEY, MO – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) threw another punch in their battle against the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, yesterday.

The group filed a petition with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) saying that 26 states have not yet incorporated the new regulation into state laws, and are not authorized to enforce the rule until they do so. 

Executive vice president Todd Spencer said there are at least two indicators – a bill currently before congress asking for a two-year delay on implementing the mandate, as well as notice filed earlier this week by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) informing the FMCSA that enforcement would be phased in slowly, with inspectors not putting vehicles out-of-service for ELD violations until April 1, 2018 – that the mandate isn’t ready for implementation.

“Too many states are not ready to roll out the mandate and can’t possibly be ready by the Dec. 18 deadline,” he said in a release. “We are concerned about numerous states issuing citations for the violation of non-existent state laws.”

The OOIDA’s petition says that more than 20 states are years behind in adopting amendments and additions to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. In order to qualify for federal grants under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, states are required to incorporate the regulations or their equivalent into state law.

The OOIDA is also concerned that serious legal problems could arise because states are attempting to enforce federal safety standards that have not been made part of state law.

According to the OOIDA states that have not updated their laws to match the federal standard include Delaware, which has not updated its incorporation of the federal regulations since 2006; Arizona, where laws were last updated in 2012; and Kansas, where regulations have not been updated since 2013.

“We know that state enforcement officers lack the training and equipment to operate in an ELD environment,” said Spencer. “This lack of preparedness should come as no surprise given that half the states have not even adopted FMCSA’s ill-conceived ELD rule into state law.”

The OOIDA is calling for members to reach out to their elected representatives with concerns about the new mandate.

The ELD mandate is on-track to come into effect on December 18. The CVSA says new regulation will be enforced road-side by local inspectors, with just citations being issued for violations until April 1, 2018, followed by complete enforcement of the law, including placing vehicles or drivers out-of-service when deemed appropriate.