§395.24 Driver responsibilities—In general.

Question 1: What if there is no internet connectivity to perform telematics data transfer between the electronic logging device (ELD) and the safety official?

Guidance: If both the safety official and the driver are experiencing internet connectivity issues, then the safety official will use the ELD display screen or a printout from the ELD to review the ELD data. However, if the internet connectivity issue is only being experienced by the ELD, the device may be identified as a potentially non-compliant device. The safety official will use the display screen or printout to review the ELD data if the data cannot be transferred, regardless of the reason.

For web services and email, the device must be capable of independently connecting to the internet in a reliable manner whenever a roadside inspection occurs. An implementation that depends on Wi-Fi being present at the roadside or that only offers an extremely limited coverage area may not meet the requirements of an ELD.

Question 2: How must a driver reflect their record of duty status for the previous 7 days during a roadside inspection, if he or she is employed by multiple motor carriers that are using ELDs?

Guidance: The driver can either, (1) print out their hours-of-service from the other motor carrier, (2) if operating with compatible devices the ELD data can be transferred between the motor carriers with the driver’s approval, or (3) manually add the hours of service while operating for that motor carrier into the current ELD using the editing and annotation functions of the ELD.

Question 3: How must a driver who is starting to work for a new motor carrier present their prior 7 days’ records of duty status to the new carrier?

Guidance: Section 395.8(j)(2) provides that “Motor carriers, when using a driver for the first time or intermittently, shall obtain from the driver a signed statement giving the total time on duty during the immediately preceding 7 days and the time at which the driver was last relieved from duty prior to beginning work for the motor carriers.” In the alternative, the driver may present copies of the prior 7 days’ records of duty status or a print-out of the prior 7 days from the prior carrier’s ELD system.

Question 4: Does the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) rule require that an ELD be able to both display electronically and print?

Guidance: No. The display and print requirement serves as a backup to the data transfer methods. In the event that data transmission fails during a roadside inspection, the safety official must be able to view the required information without entering the commercial motor vehicle (CMV). This can be accomplished via either the ELD screen or a printout from the ELD, whichever is supported by the device. If a provider selects the display requirement as the backup method, the device is not required to meet the print requirement and vice versa.

Question 5: What is the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) power unit number?

Guidance: The power unit number is the identifier the motor carrier uses to identify the power unit.

Question 6: What is the process for transferring data via email?

Guidance: If the driver is using a “telematics” electronic logging device (ELD) with email capabilities, the authorized safety official may request that the electronic data transfer file be sent as an attachment to an email. This email address is preprogramed in the ELD by the vendor. The safety official will provide the driver with a routing code to reference in the email.

Question 7: What are the options for electronic logging devices (ELDs) to electronically transfer data?

Guidance: According to the ELD rule technical specifications, an ELD must support one of two options for electronic data transfer:

1. The first option is a “telematics” transfer type ELD. At a minimum, it must electronically transfer data to an authorized safety official on demand via wireless web services and email.
2. The second option is a “local” transfer type ELD. At a minimum, it must electronically transfer data to an authorized safety official on demand via USB2.0 and Bluetooth®.

To ensure that law enforcement is always able to receive the hours of service data during a roadside inspection, a driver must be able to provide either the display or a printout when an authorized safety official requests a physical display of the information.

Question 8: How will safety officials receive data electronically from the two different types of ELDs with options for different methods of electronic data transfer (“telematics” and “local”)?

Guidance: Authorized safety officials who conduct roadside enforcement activities (i.e., traffic enforcement and inspections) or compliance safety investigations will have the option of choosing a minimum of one electronic data transfer method (web services or email) and one “local” electronic data transfer method (USB 2.0 or Bluetooth®) for the electronic transfer of ELD data, depending on the type of ELD.

Question 9: What is the process for transferring data via USB 2.0?

Guidance: If a driver is using a “local” electronic logging device (ELD) with USB 2.0 capabilities, an authorized safety official will provide a secure USB device to allow the driver to electronically transfer data from the ELD to the official. The driver will return the USB device to the safety official, who will transfer the data to a computing device.

Question 10: What is the process for transferring data via Bluetooth®?

Guidance: While the local Bluetooth requires the use of web services, local Bluetooth data transfer requires only the safety official to have internet connectivity and not the electronic logging device (ELD). The driver’s/motor carrier’s ELD will use the safety official’s internet connection to transfer data. The internet connection between the ELD and the safety official will be limited and can only be used for the purpose of transferring the ELD data via the web service. During Bluetooth data transfer, the driver/motor carrier must make the ELD discoverable. Once the ELD detects the safety official’s laptop, the safety official will provide the driver/motor carrier with a Bluetooth code to enter into the ELD and confirm Bluetooth connectivity between the safety official’s laptop and the ELD. Once the connection between the safety official’s laptop and the ELD has been confirmed, the safety official will provide the driver/motor carrier with the safety official’s unique code, and the driver/motor carrier will transfer the ELD data to web services for the safety official to retrieve.

Question 11: What is the process for transferring data via web services?

Guidance: If the driver is using a “telematics” electronic logging device (ELD) with wireless web services capabilities, the authorized safety official will give the driver a routing code to assist the official in locating the data once transmitted, and the driver will initiate a web transfer to an FMCSA server to be retrieved by the safety official’s software.

Question 12: How can a driver record their on-duty not driving status, such as working in a warehouse, on an ELD, prior to operating a commercial motor vehicle equipped with an ELD?

Guidance: All of the driver’s hours of service must be accounted for when subject to the hours of service rules. A driver can manually add any on-duty not driving time accrued prior to operating a commercial motor vehicle.

Question 13: Can a logged-in co-driver make entries over his or her records using the electronic logging device (ELD) when he or she is not driving?

Guidance: Yes. The driver who is not operating the vehicle may make entries over his or her own records when the vehicle is in motion. However, co-drivers cannot switch driving roles on the ELD when the vehicle is in motion.