Florida’s Extension for the ELD Mandate
It’s finally happening. The ELD mandate, mentioned in the 2012 Congress bill ‘Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century’, will be implemented in December this year. However, Florida has been granted a one-year extension, meaning Florida’s drivers will have until December 2018 to comply with the mandate. The ELD mandate had sprouted some controversies previously, but its effectiveness and viability laid them to rest.
What Is The ELD Mandate?
The idea of the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) was proposed so that the truck drivers could electronically log in and record their total work hours. Before this, many companies were using a log book and verbally assigned their work hours in the driver’s progress report. The Hours of Service (HOS) can now be accurate enough so that any discrepancies in compensation can be corrected. This leaves zero room for error.
What Does Florida Adopting the ELD Mandate Mean
Florida has a great intrastate market that is second only to Texas. Both states will benefit from the ELD mandate as they already share intrastate hours rules and regulations. With a 12-hour drive time option and a greater weekly cumulative limit, both states will see a boost in payroll efficiency. This can also prevent future strikes and unionization as each truck driver gets paid what he or she deserves.
Other states will also follow in Florida’s footsteps, including larger ones like California and Alaska. Both states are yet to make any compatible changes to fit the federal mandate but are known to do so in the future. An intrastate truck driver now has to have ELD on his truck if he is to pass through Florida otherwise by law he will not be in compliance with the state rules.
Therefore other intrastate truck drivers that pass through Florida or Texas have to adopt the mandate as well, as the market might possibly get adversely affected. In the future, this bill will have a ripple effect and will be prevalent across most of the US. Seeing that it is affordable and perhaps the easiest ELD solution in the industry, it is only a matter of time before other states begin to realize its worth and adopt the federal mandate.
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