March 2023 - Mayflower Insurance

ELD(Electronic Logging Device) In Commercial Truck Industry

Are you looking for the best ELD Trucking solutions? Or Do you wonder about the significance of ELD in commercial truck companies? Whether you own a truck company, owner-operator, belong to the truck industry, transportation, or casual reader. We can guide you from scratch about ELD’s prominence in the Trucking industry. Thus, you can avoid all your small or major confusion by getting crystal-clear information on Electronic Logging Devices.

What Is ELD?

ELD (Electronic Logging Device) is the equipment that implements automatic location & driving record tracking under FMCSA compliance for all the driving trucks along with their running trailers. It works on tracking the driving status of a trucker which shouldn’t exceed legal working hours. Thus, It monitors the driving engine to get the exact tracking details. Therefore, many ELD regulating device companies enroll under FMCSA to provide the on-duty,off-duty, and break-hours status of a driver.
ELD System tracks location after every sixty minutes during duty hours while changing the driving status, and during power up & shut down of the engine.

Why ELD Is Mandatory?

It’s very easy to understand the mandatory requirement of Electronic Logging Devices in every truck & trailer. That is to

To keep a truck company & owner operator disciplined with driving rules
Avoid any mishappening on roads due to poor driving of a trucker
To keep a truck driver/owner-operator internally stable with driving routine
To avoid complex and non-transparent records through paperwork records.
To access real-time operations in the truck enterprise.

In short implementing ELD Device is a kind of proof for the transportation authority(FMCSA) that the concerned truck company works on driving rules to maintain the safe transportation system on the road.

How ELD Works In A Truck Or Trailer?

ELD equipment is attached to the truck that is enrolled with the concerned driver for their daily operations. Here, the driver’s location gets automatically tracked for On-Duty, Off-Duty, Break, or sleep time. The interface in the ELD presents the interface to the driver showing its available hours which get deducted with consumption regularly. The backend process track automatically as per the driver’s action. Therefore, the designed system presents the components like messaging, hours of service, Driver login, and other duty status requirements. Thus, ELD Systems For Trucks are designed in a compatible framework where the driving standard of all truck companies remains transparent to the Department Of Transparent.

Here are the data elements which covers while synchronizing with Commercial Motor Vehicle

What is the Engine Power Status of The vehicle?
What Is The Motion Status of the Truck?
How many miles does the concerned vehicle drive?
How many Engine hours does the concerned truck has made?
Identification of driver/authorized user, vehicle, and motor carrier
What’s The Duty status (On Duty, Off Duty, Break Time) of the driver?

Which Truck Enterprises Gets ELD Exemption?

However, Electronic Logging Device is compulsory for the maximum commercial truck enterprises. Still, there are truck enterprises that get fmcsa eld exemptions in the following conditions.

Drivers serving not more than eight hours of duty within a month doesn’t require to fulfill RODS and satisfy ELD criteria.
Drivers operating within a one-fifty air miles radius in not less than 14 hours consecutive duty hours.
Drivers who are not supposed to keep RODS records.
Driver-making towaway operation where a motor vehicle is driven or transported as a part of the shipment.
Drivers using before the 2000-year modal vehicle are exempted from ELD.

What ELD Documentation A Commercial Truck Driver Must Have?

A driver riding a truck with an ELD device doesn’t become 100% eligible without carrying proper ELD documentation. Thus, here are a few things that a trucking driver must have while managing trucking with an ELD device. It proves the truck company’s ELD compliance fulfillment to the inspection authorities.

The document defines the ELD Operating Rules which cover the overall process and used components.
The data transfer mechanism for ELD system components along with the driver’s duty hour records is presented in a detailed instruction sheet.
ELD Malfunction tracking and reporting procedure by the driver must be available while driving during inspection with concerned authority officials.

How ELD Providers Become Acceptable For Truck Enterprises?

FMCSA’s pre-defined ELD rules make it necessary for every truck enterprise to implement the same at their commercial place. Therefore, a truck company or owner-operators follows ELD rules while maintaining the RODS(Record Of Duty Status) and HOS(Hours Of Service) record. Therefore, here are a few parameters depending on which truck company can choose Trucking ELD Solution service.

Check the FMCSA & DOT certification with ELD Providers.
The Device should meet IFTA compliance(miles tracking requirement) and be properly tested by the ELD provider.
Experience of ELD providers with different truckers, Word to mouth goodwill, and better reviews and portfolios.
An experienced & reputed company offers different plans for their costumes. A truck company can check the pricing and offers compatibility with different service plans.
Choose the compatible format with a company device offer or install ELD service in the existing hardware(smartphone or tablet).
Check the device compatibility with different types of truck vehicle categories to get optimized ELD solution devices available in the market.
Check the dynamic approach of ELD service providers which stays active & up-to-date with changes in FMCSA regulations.
The device or ELD system must be 100% secure & portable to use in the long term in any system device.

Best ELD Devices A Truck Company Can Consider For Use!

As we know, FMCSA has set the mandatory requirement in past years for every truck company while meeting RODS compliance. Infact, FMCSA removes/declines the ELD provider service when it doesn’t stay up-to-date with market features or does not provide transparent automatic tracking.. (the way FMCSA recently removed ‘All Ways Track’, as it didn’t meet requirements as per 49 CFR part 395,). Therefore, a truck company must look for the Best ELD Devices for Trucks to not suffer from unnecessary interruptions in long-term transportation services.

What Best Features Of ELD Devices Can Be Helpful For Truck Drivers & Owner Operators?

A truck company couldn’t enroll in an ELD service as per word-to-mouth suggestion until it does not set compatible with a specific purpose. The process of ELD for Trucks goes from package or device installation plan to subscription term. Here a truck company while researching ELD compliance with DOT & FMCSA must also check for the working & recording features like

Easy To Install & Operate
Synchronization With Truck Engine
Accurate Location Tracking
Convenient Interface For A Common Person
Compatible With Fleet Type/Size
100% Accurate Tracking
Secure & Easy Account Management
Worth With Cost
24/7 Hours Support
Audio Control Integration

Here is a list of devices that can suit the best truck enterprise or an owner-operator’s choice. Thus, A truck company can choose the same depending on its truck enterprise business requirement.

Matrack ELD Device
GPS Trackit ELD Device
Gorilla Safety ELD Device
Garmin eLog
Motive ELD
Samsara Device
Omnitracs ELD Device
EROAD Ehubo ELD Device
BigRoad’s Dashlink ELD Device
Verizon Connect Reveal ELD Device

Final Words

We hope the above article information is fruitful to engage you with ELD providers. The prominence of the ELD service gets very much clear from the recent amendments which FMCSA applies for absolute Driver records. Therefore, a truck company must look for the best available option for documents, paperwork, official enrollments, Insurance coverage, and ELD function.

Everything About Operating Authority In FMCSA

Do you feel like you need clarification with fmcsa portal compliances? Or do you look for in-depth results regarding FMCSA operational authority policies? Then you are on the right platform. We are here to guide you from scratch about the FMCSA operating authority compliances. Thus, If you belong to a truck company, you can get aware of all the details which the transport regulation authority i.e FMCSA demands from every truck organization.

What Is Operating Authority In FMCSA?

FMCSA operating authorities are a few of the additional compliance standards which are defined in series for different truck organizations. A truck company may implement one or more than one operational authority category(series) depending on their type of trucking business & cargo transport category. Furthermore, Operational authorities are a kind of additional authorities that a truck company may or may not need to implement apart from fulfilling DOT compliance requirements. So, if you already own a dot number and fulfill the DOT registration requirements(initial stage), then you become eligible to move with FMCSA operational authority compliances. Therefore, By fulfilling FMCSA operating authority criteria, your truck business gets eligible to execute regular operations.

What Are The Types Of Operating Authorities Under FMCSA?

A truck company needs to have a suitable operating authority that matches its trucking nature demand. A perfect Operating Authority makes a truck business suitable to safely & lawfully execute interstate business. At the same time, while buying a compatible trucking insurance coverage scheme. Therefore, a truck owner must be aware of different types of Operating Authorities to select the relevant one for supporting his business.

Motor Carrier Of Property (Except Household Goods)

This operating authority transports regular commodities(except household goods) interstate with public liability support.

Motor Carrier Of Household Goods(moving companies)

This OA transports only household goods from manufacturers, suppliers, and other productions which are transported with suitable temperature conditions. Thus, It requires Public Liability & cargo insurance to make interstate operations.

Broker Of Property(Except Household Goods)

When a broker agency or private broker takes responsibility for transporting goods(excluding household goods) without holding possession of transporting property/commodity. Furthermore, It transports through authorized motor carriers.

Broker Of Household Goods

This Operating Authority operates when a registered broker agency or individual arranges transportation of household commodities. Furthermore, It doesn’t hold the responsibility of goods.

Carrier Of International Cargo(Except Household Goods)

It transports public goods(except household goods) internationally. This OA is headquartered in USA & controlled majorly by Mexican citizens.

Carrier Of International Household Goods

A household goods transport agency arranges the transportation of household goods internationally through an authorized Motor carrier.

Why Does A Truck Company Need To Have FMCSA Operating Authority?

A truck company must have an interstate Operating authority or mc number in addition to a dot number because of the following reasons

While Transporting interstate commerce or federally regulated commodities. (In return for payment or other compensation)
Getting the relevant truck insurance depends upon the right Operating Authority category.
To spend a genuine amount on compatible Operating Authority registration & insurance coverage.

Which Truck Authorities Require FMCSA Operating Authority(MC Number)?

While making for-hire truck operations for compensation
A broker or truck company that makes the interstate transport of goods or passengers.

Who Does Not Require FMCSA Operating Authority(MC Number)

A private truck owner transporting his own cargo load.
If a truck owner/enterprise transports goods non-federally regulated commodities.
If a truck company operates in a federally-designated zone exempt from any inter-state authority.

What Is MC Number?

MC number is a Motor Carrier number that is provided under FMCSA Operating Authority Standard. Thus, It usually differs depending on the Operating Authority category.

So, if a truck company transports under different FMCSA Operating Authorities, it can have more than one mc number as per its compatibility with the OA category. Furthermore, Transport authorities who travel interstate commerce for passengers or federally regulated commodities enroll for the OA category to get the concerned MC number after the USDOT number.

What Is MX Number?

MX is a kind of prefix of Motor Carrier number which is also known as a docket number(for all MC/MX/FF numbers) provided to the transport authorities which are permanently based in Mexico. Therefore, Mexico motor carriers require to have an FMCSA-provided MX number to operate in USA regions. In addition, it is also provided to inter-state for hire or motor carriers.

What Is FF Number?

FF(Freight Forwarder) is an OA registration number provided to Freight Forwarders that take responsibility for issuing bills to licensed motor carriers for arranging the transporting of goods, loading to shippers & accounting for cargo damage/loss. Furthermore, the OP-1(FF) form is usually filled out to get registered under FMCSA. Freight Forwarders must enroll with FHWA(Federal Highway Administration) before getting FF Number from FMCSA.

So, from the above statements, we get to know about OA categories and their registration mode(MC, MX, FX) numbers which are all specified for interstate commerce business. Therefore, OA under FMCSA usually takes around 4 weeks process to get enrolled in Freight Forwarders, Interstate brokers & For-hire commercials. Both dot and mc number are usually required by maximum truck company owners.

How Our Service Is Helpful For Transporting Agencies?

The transporting agency becomes eligible to have relevant Insurance to operate after getting successfully enrolled under OA registration, or during the process. Thus, the type of insurance usually depends on the type of MC/MX/FF that priorly depends on the type of OA you have. Therefore, you need to carry a relevant OA depending on what type of cargo you haul for interstate operations.

We provide our coverage support for all kinds of cargo-based tracking i.e

Flatbed Trucking
Dry Van Trucking
Refrigerated Trucking
Hazmat Trucking
Full Truck Load
Less Than Truck Load
Hazmat Trucking
Tanker Trucking

Along with providing support in different trucking services, we support compatible trucking insurance that relates to general liability, physical damage,non-trucking coverage, bobtail insurance, cargo insurance, primary auto liability, etc. Therefore, Our support for every compatible truck insurance remains on priority for the truckers or enterprises to reach out with the best option.

What Processes Involve To Enroll Under FMCSA Operating Authority Policy?

Truck Owners who register from the basic step(without DOT or other registration usually apply through URS(Unified Registration Number) as per FMCSA regulatory policy.
Applicants carrying USDOT numbers follow the FMCSA Legacy Registration System through the specified payments and application process updated in the FMCSA portal.
You can apply through a Form & move the proceedings through the mail, express mail & card payment options stated in FMCSA’s recent compliance policy.

It usually takes from 20-25 days to 45-60 days depending on the enrollment process mode & category.

Why Choose Us?

We are a broker agency that provides support in truck insurance options depending upon cost, coverage & policy term. We figure out the best option as your cargo demand needs and your truck Operating Authority requires you to fulfill the necessary criteria. Furthermore, we guide you in every possible way to not let you stuck with any instant support, multiple options, or better consultation. In addition, you get in-depth knowledge regarding your insurance needs and claim approval support. You may feel confused or go with the options provided by service providers during direct insurance purchase, but we filter out the choice which completely covers your personalized demands & overages. In short, you get a kind of customized policy that suits your budget & beneficial for long-term use.