Roadside inspections by safety officials can be a source of anxiety for even the most experienced drivers. With the move to ELDs the days of sifting through messy paperwork might be gone, but there are new challenges. Most importantly, every driver needs to know how to successfully navigate through the transfer of data from his ELD to the safety official.

The ELD Mandate specifies that the primary method to verify a driver’s hours of service is electronic data transfer to the FMCSA’s eRODS application via:

• Telematics (web services and email) or
• Local (USB and Bluetooth)

If that data transfer process does not work, the safety official can verify the driver’s hours of service using ‘back-up options’ by either visually looking at the display screen of the ELD or a printout from the ELD.

Unfortunately, there are a few wrinkles to this, depending upon your ELD vendor. Even now, many months past the enforcement date, not every ELD manufacturer has completely implemented the required methods of transfer or back-up options.

While this might not be a huge worry itself, there’s yet another complication that can be added to this. Not all states have full support for data transfers using all the methods. For example, some states only support the web services option and no Local transfer options such as Bluetooth or USB due to IT security restrictions.

So, ensuring that you’ll be able to comply with the safety official’s inspection requests can be even more challenging if you’ve got an ELD that doesn’t fully support what the safety official needs.

As long as your ELD has implemented the Telematics functionality, you’ll simply enter the safety official’s code into your ELD and the data will automatically be transferred to the eRODS site. EROAD fully supports the Telematics option of data transfer – Email and Web Services.

If you are interested in seeing how your ELD data file looks for the safety official during a roadside inspection, you can export your data and manually upload it to the eRODS site. It’s a great way to stay on top of compliance.

“One of our hazmat drivers had a DOT stop in a state where inspections are typically brutal. The driver called me after the inspection and was very excited. He had no findings on his truck and paperwork but he was most excited about the DOT officer’s response and comments to him after the inspection. The officer told him his HOS logs were perfect and kept thanking our driver stating that he really appreciated how easy it was to access logs on EROAD!  Apparently, DOT officers must be having difficulty accessing logs from other telematics company’s ELDs. Thankful for EROAD’s great customer service, documentation, and driver/officer-friendly product design that is so easy to use!”

– Keith Minnick, Safety Director, Myles Transportation, Inc.

Using EROAD, the driver can also hand the in-cab device over to the officer in Inspection Mode. This provides a clean version of the log data, without any violation notifications. It also prevents the officer from accessing any personal data that might be included on a device like a cell phone or tablet which is common with other BYOD ELD solutions.

Not sure if your solution will get you through your next inspection? Maybe it’s time to talk to an EROAD professional about your unique needs. We’re here to help. Contact Us