ELD Versus Electronic Onboard Recorder – Let’s Have A Quick Look

Keeping a record of the Hours of Service or HOS is mandatory for truck drivers as the owners have all the rights to check the details and figure out your total drive time. There was a time when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety or FMCSA trusted the paper logbooks and relied on the entries put in manually by the drivers. With the advancement in technology, FMCSA introduced electronic onboard recorder (EOBR) in 2007 for recording the length of time until which the truck was driven. The level of accuracy and transparency was a great advantage for truck owners but there was something that was still missing.

What Made ELD Replace EOBRs?

From effective roadside inspections to offering all minor and major details to drivers and owners, EOBRs have been effective in every way but the major issue was that the FMCSA allowed the inculcation of the same in vehicles that had a history of HOS violations. What made the EOBRs be replaced with ELD was not the former’s effectiveness but the objective of it. EOBRs were introduced with a limited aim of reducing driver fatigue and make sure they do not get distracted and drive carelessly on the roads.

The proposals of making the EOBR usage common for all the trucks did rounds for a while and then the same came into the existence win the form of ELD Mandate, which was a more advanced form of the technology that unveiled the new face of the electronic logging system. The ELD introduced real-time tracking, monitoring, and reporting of whatever details the sensors gathered from the truck’s engine by becoming a part of it. The ELD compliance was made compulsory for every eligible truck operating in the nation, thereby making owner-operators to have them included in the system by December 2017.

Well, there are still many truckers who are yet to get the device incorporated in their vehicles. If you are one of them, you still have the grace period in your hand and you can get the device synched with your truck’s engine by December 2019.

The Standard Specifications

When the device manufacturers develop an ELD device, there are some specifications that they necessarily keep in mind while to make it compliant with FMCSA standards. To ensure consistency is maintained while the data is recorded and retrieved, the ELD devices come up with a specific format to be followed. For the driver of a truck, it is mandatory to remain connected to the engine of the vehicle to log while it’s moving. The trucker gets different driving statuses to choose from while driving so that the current state of the vehicle could be detected. The options include on duty, off duty or on duty without driving.

If you are looking for the best replacement for your electronic onboard recorder in the US and Canada, ELD Mandate offers the most effective electronic logging devices for sale. The device is equipped with all the features and is available at reasonably priced monthly and yearly packages. For details, you may visit the website.