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FMCSA to Allow Log Book Apps For First Time
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has revised official guidance concerning log book software such as smartphone apps. For the first time, carriers will be able to use these apps in place of a log book as long as they can electronically sign their record of duty status.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has taken a big step towards reducing the amount of paper that drivers must cart around by changing its opinion on electronic log book tools.

These tools, which differ extensively from Electronic On Board recorder and Electronic Logging Devices are best typified by the numerous log book apps available for smartphones and tablets.

Guidance

By issuing new guidance, FMCSA has moved to remove this confusion. Published in the Federal Register this week, the guidance is not in the form of a formal regulation but instead gives a general overview of how enforcement officials should view electronic logs.

The app or program must allow for electronic signing. Naturally, this is easier on a smartphone or tablet than on a laptop as they have touch screens. If electronic signing is not possible, the driver must print the log and sign it by hand. Law enforcement has been directed to give drivers an opportunity to do this when inspecting an unsigned electronic log.

The app or program must store log pages so that a law enforcement officer can see at least seven days of records. Alternatively, the driver must be able to print seven days’ worth of information upon request of law enforcement.

Apps verses ELDs

It is worth reiterating that these apps differ a great deal from Electronic Logging Devices (ELDS) and Electronic On Board Recorders (EOBRs). Importantly, a log book app does not automatically record information. These apps are literally a replacement for the paper log book in that they are a graph-grid that the driver uses to track their hours. They do not connect to the engine diagnostic port or a GPS system.

Apps of this nature have been available for several years. Up until now, they have been considered technically non-compliant. Drivers that used them were at the discretion of roadside inspectors and police as to whether the log would be accepted. (We’ve heard mixed results over the years).

Handwriting Rule

This essentially removes a rule that had been blocking the more widespread adoption of electronic logging software that required the logs be in the driver’s own handwriting. That rule, written with the intention of preventing log book fraud.

The rule also aims to harmonize guidance issued in 2011 that allowed electronic storage and signature of other records but specifically did not include hours of service logs. The now out-of-date guidance found in 49 CFR Part 395.8 will be removed from the regulations.

Stopgap Measure

It is safe to look at these guidance changes as a stopgap measure to encourage electronic log usage until the ELD regulations proposed earlier this year come into play.

Given that FMCSA is proposing that everyone use an electronic device within the next couple of years, it was a bizarre oddity that the Agency would effectively ban the use of other electronic logs in the meantime.

One of the emerging technologies that many are predicting will take over once the ELD rules are finalized is the paired smartphone and ELD. In those cases, the ELD will be hardwired to the vehicle and will transmit data to a mobile device.

Carriers should expect the ELD regulations to take several year to get through all of the rulemaking and implementation hurdles. We recommend waiting until the rules are finalized before investing in any expensive new vehicle equipment.

 

BigRoad provides an app for drivers that allows them to complete and store their log books electronically. We have provided some information below to help drivers and inspectors follow the federal regulations that apply to electronic logs.

Our FAQ provides some general information on the legality of using the BigRoad app as well as guidance on how to proceed during an inspection. This page contains information for enforcement officers, fleet operators, and drivers who are interested in the complete regulatory details.

United States
Using BigRoad as an electronic logbook (not connected to the engine)
The most recent regulatory guidance regarding records of duty status generated by logging software programs was produced on July 10, 2014 in Vol. 79, No. 132 of the Federal Register:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-07-10/pdf/2014-15951.pdf

In this guidance the FMCSA affirmed that electronic logs are legal and can be used during a roadside inspection. The following is the full text of the updated guidance:

Question 28: May a driver use a computer, tablet, or smartphone (that is not an Automatic On-Board Recording Device) to create, electronically sign, and store the record of duty status (RODS)?

Guidance: Yes. A driver may make manual duty-status entries to a computer, tablet, or smartphone program that is used to generate the graph grid and entries for the record of duty status (RODS) or log book, provided the electronically-generated display (if any) and output includes the minimum information required by § 395.8 and is formatted in accordance with that section. The driver must sign the RODS (manually or electronically) at the end of each 24-hour period to certify that all required entries are true and correct.

1. If electronic signatures are not used:
   • The driver must print and manually sign the RODS daily.
   • The driver must have in his or her possession the printed and signed RODS for the prior seven consecutive days (if required on those days).
   • The driver should be given an opportunity to print and manually sign the current day’s RODS at the time of the inspection.
2. If RODS have been electronically signed:
   • At the time of an inspection of records by an enforcement official, the driver may display the current and prior seven days RODS to the official on the device’s screen.
   • If the enforcement official requests printed copies of the RODS, the driver must be given an opportunity to print the current and prior seven days RODS (if required on those days) at the time of inspection.

Questions & Answers about using BigRoad as an electronic logbook

• Is it FMCSA compliant for a driver to create, sign, store and transmit his or her logs electronically using BigRoad?
  
  Yes. The FMCSA established parity between paper and electronic records and signatures in § 390.31 of the FMCSA regulations and affirmed this as part of the July 10, 2014 regulatory guidance in the Federal Register.
  
  
• Can a DOT officer or roadside inspector use the screen on a driver’s phone or tablet to inspect daily logs?
  
  Yes. The latest guidance states that:
  
  At the time of an inspection of records by an enforcement official, the driver may display the current and prior seven days RODS to the official on the device’s screen.
  If an inspector does not require copies (either electronic or paper) of the logs for their own report then viewing the logs electronically is sufficient and fully compliant with FMCSA regulations.
  
  
• Does a driver need to have the 7 previous consecutive days of logs available as paper copies prior to a roadside inspection?
  
  No. The latest guidance states that:
  
  If the enforcement official requests printed copies of the RODS, the driver must be given an opportunity to print the current and prior seven days RODS (if required on those days) at the time of inspection.
• Can a DOT officer or roadside inspector accept electronic copies of a driver’s logs instead of paper copies as part of their reporting process?
  
  Yes. For example, a roadside inspector could allow a driver to email them a PDF version of the daily logs. The guidance for § 390.31 (Question 10) states that:
  
  [Electronic copies can be produced] depending on compatibility with the information systems and how the Agency or other entity entitled to access plans to use the document. Under some circumstances, electronic transfer may be acceptable. In other cases, you may be required to print paper copies of the electronically-stored records or documents.
  The electronic documents are legally equivalent to receiving paper documents. This is the preferred way to conduct a log inspection because it reduces the unnecessary use of paper, as is the intention of the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA).
  
  
• If a DOT officer or roadside inspector insists on paper copies, how must those paper copies be produced?
  
  The requirement for electronic document reproduction is that a paper copy is available “immediately and without risk of losing or altering data.” Inspectors have different interpretations of what methods of reproduction meet this requirement. Some inspectors accept faxed or printed logs sent to the nearest truck stop, or handwritten copies made onto paper log sheets.
  
  
• When a DOT officer or roadside inspector insists on paper copies, must they allow a driver to print their electronic logs in the truck using a connected printer?
  
  Yes. The latest guidance states that:
  
  If the enforcement official requests printed copies of the RODS, the driver must be given an opportunity to print the current and prior seven days RODS (if required on those days) at the time of inspection
• What about the FMCSA guidance that says a driver using a computer to prepare their logs must print them each day and sign the printed copy?
  
  This guidance was found in questions 27 and 28 for § 395.8 of the FMCSA regulations. It was the FMCSA’s response to queries from the maker of a daily log software program in 2001 & 2002.
  
  In the July 10, 2014 guidance from the FMCSA question 27 was withdrawn and question 28 was revised with the text found above which explicitly allows the record of duty status to be maintained electronically.
  
  We expect these updates to be published to the FMCSA website shortly, and be reflected in up-to-date printed rulebooks.
  

 

If you are strictly using the App as Electronic Logging and do not have an ELD (automatic logging device), then you are not required to carry an cab card for operations of the ELD.. Make sure you are not connected to the truck in any manner which would classify you as an ELD.

The KEY word is Electronic Logging, NOT ELD.

In those cases, the ELD will be hardwired to the vehicle and will transmit data to a mobile device.

So OP, define one more time what you have in your truck. An ELD transmitting data to a mobile device or an App that is stand alone that you ONLY do Electronic Logging and is no way, shape, or form connected to any device that is connected to the truck's computers.

 

Go back to the FMCSA regulation.. The operating manual is required if you have an automatic recording device commonly known as a ELD or EOBR.

The Electronic log is a replacement of the paper logs.


Read the information...




Apps verses ELDs

It is worth reiterating that these apps differ a great deal from Electronic Logging Devices (ELDS) and Electronic On Board Recorders (EOBRs). Importantly, a log book app does not automatically record information. These apps are literally a replacement for the paper log book in that they are a graph-grid that the driver uses to track their hours. They do not connect to the engine diagnostic port or a GPS system.

 

Ask yourself this.

1. Does the app record information gleamed from an automatic recording device connected to the truck physically?

2. Is the App an replacement for the paper logs required by DOT and not connected in any way, shape, or form to an automatic recording device?

if 1 - yes you need an operations manual.
if 2 - no you do not need an operations manual since it is not an ELD.

Now depending on how you described what you had to the LEO may have lead him to think you have an ELD.

So do you have a app for electronic logging or an ELD that records to the App?

 

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-12-16/pdf/2015-31336.pdf

page 6 Section § 395.26 defines ELD's in the ruling

 

You can have an ELD, Electronic recording device sending data to an app or an AOBRD, which is an Automatic onboard recording device..

I think most QC's fall under the AOBRD.