2 ELD-Specific Duty Statuses Deeper Understanding – Interaction of ELD and The 100 Air-Mile Radius Exception If you’ve spent time in or around the trucking industry, you know that many professional drivers operate under the longstanding “100 air-mile radius exception.” In 2012, when Congress passed a law requiring the USDOT to HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW mandate ELD use by professional truck drivers, they recognized But, after FMCSA published its ELD mandate rules, an important that many drivers operate locally, they don’t work long hours and, question remained unanswered. That is, if a driver operates outside ** as a result, they don’t complete a daily paper log. This recognition the 100 air-mile radius exception for 9 or more days within any led Congress to allow the USDOT to exempt from the ELD mandate 30-day period, how long must this short haul driver use an ELD ‘short haul’ drivers not required to complete a daily paper log. But, when operating his/her truck in the future. Forever? For a year? For as simple as that may sound, the application of this paper logbook a month? Until the cows come home? In March, 2017, in response exception to the ELD mandate got a bit more complicated when it to an industry inquiry, FMCSA answered this question in writing with came to ‘rule writing’ time at FMCSA. the following, short response: “Yes, the driver can return to recording his/her records of duty status on a paper log when the operation BREAKING DOWN THE RULES meets the requirements of a short haul operation.” What does that answer mean? It means that the “any 30-day period” is a rolling 30 FMCSA realized that many short haul drivers who regularly operate days. As soon as the driver is back within the “not more than 8 days ** under the 100 air-mile radius exception are also faced with a within any 30-day period” rule, he/she can return to using a paper common trucking reality—that is, any given load may take a driver log. If it helps, think of this new ‘8 days within any 30-days’ rule just outside the 100 air-mile radius, or the delivery location coupled with as you would think of the ’70 hours in any 8-day period’ rule. an increasingly congested road system, may cause a driver to return to his work location more than 12 hours after departing. In either of these cases, a driver is ineligible for the 100 air-mile radius logbook exception that day, and must prepare a paper log for that day. ** Note: There is also a similar 150 air-mile radius exception from paper logs for During ELD rule-writing time, FMCSA had to answer the following non-CDL drivers. FMCSA’s new ‘8 days within any 30-days’ rule also applies to question—how many times may a driver operate outside of the drivers regularly operating under the 150 air-mile exception. 100 air-mile radius exception before that driver is required to use an ELD? After receiving and considering input from the trucking industry on this question, FMCSA decided the ELD rule should allow a ‘100 air-mile radius driver’** to operate outside the 100 air-mile radius exception for not more 8 days within any 30-day period, and still be exempt from use of an ELD. This means that, under the new ELD rules, a typical ‘100 air-mile radius driver’ is still only required to complete a paper log for those days (up to 8) when reality hits and he/she exceeds the 100 air miles or the 12-consecutive hour limitation. This also means that a driver is required to use an ELD if he/she operates outside the 100 air-mile radius exception for 9 or more days within any 30-day period. 9