Ahead of the implementation deadline for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's electronic logging device mandate in late 2017, the agency appeared to throw something of a bone to owner-operators and others opposed to the mandate by clarifying that its pre-2000 exemption applied to the engine model year rather than the model year of the truck's chassis. The reasoning behind that had to do in part with the reality of the glider-kit market, then going gangbusters, in which newer chassis were often outfitted with remanufactured pre-2000 engines, in some cases without electronic control modules (ECMs) an ELD could effectively connect to.
Thursday, Sept. 15, FMCSA signaled that it's considering potential changes to that exemption, among other aspects of the ELD rule (including malfunction-related procedures, ELD tech specs and more), with an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be published in the Federal Register Friday, Sept. 16.
On the issue of pre-2000 engines being exempt from ELD regs, the FMCSA posited that many trucks with pre-2000 engines do in fact have ECMs that could accommodate an ELD. "Should FMCSA re-evaluate or modify the applicability of the current ELD regulation for rebuilt or remanufactured CMV engines or glider kits?" the agency asks.
As part of the same question, the regulator requested "data regarding the size of the glider kit population utilizing pre-2000 engines," a figure likely to be large among Overdrive's mostly owner-operator audience given the popularity of pre-emissions engines in years leading up to EPA limitations on glider builds.
Other questions the agency is asking in its Federal Register notice include generally those aimed at identifying "ways to improve the clarity of current regulations on the use" of ELDs, and how to address "certain concerns about the technical specifications" raised by the trucking industry.
Specifically, in addition to the questions about the pre-2000 engine exemption, FMCSA also asks for comment on addressing ELD malfunctions; on the process for removing ELD products from FMCSA’s list of certified devices; on technical specifications; and on ELD certification by providers.
