ELD Problem During an Inspection: First Actions

At the roadside

1. Stop safely and follow the officer’s instructions. Open the inspection view for the correct driver.
2. Use the supported transfer method requested by the officer. A Bluetooth connection to the truck does not mean the ELD supports Bluetooth transfer to an officer.
3. If transfer fails, record the error, time and method. Tell the officer what happened and make the available display or printout accessible as instructed.
4. Contact your carrier and provider with the device model, app version and error message. Do not delete the app or erase stored logs to troubleshoot.

If the ELD has malfunctioned

The driver must notify the carrier in writing within 24 hours. When accurate recording or presentation is affected, reconstruct the current 24-hour period and previous seven days unless those records are already available or retrievable, and maintain the required records using the malfunction procedure. The carrier must correct, repair, replace or service the ELD within eight days of discovery or driver notification, whichever comes first. More time requires the applicable extension process; eight days is not blanket permission to continue every operation.

An annotation documents what happened; it does not cancel a citation. See the inspection follow-up guide and data-transfer guide.

Sources

• FMCSA carrier and driver training
• Registered methods for each ELD