FMCSA Grants Ag Haulers Extension on ELD Waiver

On March 13th, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced an additional 90-day waiver on Congress’ electronic logging device (ELD) mandate. The waiver applies to agriculture-related transportation, which includes drivers who haul agricultural commodities, non-processed food, feed, fiber, or livestock. The original waiver, which was a 90-day waiver that was announced on November 20th, 2017, was set to expire March 18th, 2018. 

The new waiver is expected to be published by its original expiration date of March 18th. The FMCSA will also publish final guidance on personal conveyance and the 150 air-mile hours-of-service exemption, which may be published in the next 60 to 90 days, according to Joe DeLorenzo, director of the FMCSA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance.
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April 1st remains the deadline for strict ELD enforcement for carriers that are not subject to waivers. Carriers found without an ELD will be placed out of service, and the driver will be out of service for 10 hours. At that point, drivers will be allowed to travel to the next scheduled stop and may not be dispatched again without an ELD. If dispatched again without an ELD, the motor carrier will be subject to further enforcement action.