Smartphone, tablet logging apps no longer require printing or manual signatures

I concur with your post for the most part, but, if a pre/post trip inspection takes more than 7 1/2 minutes, most will if you really do it, you should log 15 minutes. Kind of splitting hairs but then there are LEO's that split hairs.

 

The FMCSA itself says to "flag" entries that are less than 15 minutes.

Question 1: How should a change of duty status for a short period of time be shown on the driver’s record of duty status?

Guidance: Short periods of time (less than 15 minutes) may be identified by drawing a line from the appropriate on-duty (not driving) or driving line to the remarks section and entering the amount of time, such as “6 minutes,” and the geographic location of the duty status change.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/395.8
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With ELD you don't really decide how to log things, because (at least with the systems I am exposed to), you tell it what you do and when, and it logs it as simple time stamps.

I get to the truck, log in, go On Duty, do whatever I am doing on duty, and hit whatever buttons that match.

So for example on peoplenet for a PreTrip, I go On Duty, walk around and inspect, then get in, go to Inspections, New, and hit the PreTrip button. I fill in my driver's code, the trailer number, 0 in the hubometer field, and select No Defects, Submit.
And it puts a timestamp at the moment I hit submit.

There is no Line 6 - PreTrip, it is being done under On Duty, and if you are logging it as you are doing it, then it doesn't matter if it is more or less than 15 or 7.5 minutes, you go On Duty, do your inspection, log your inspection, and then start driving, go to Sleeper, go Off Duty, or do whatever else you need to do next.
I think it rounds it for the chart display, but in the HOS display, you see the actual timestamps in a list.

So just make sure that you are on duty long enough before you log the inspection, that you actually can do the inspection! Lol

What I hate is when I walk up and start the inspection, and forgot to go on duty first (you know the whole thing about starting your inspection as you walk up to the truck? It is easy to follow old habits and keep going, lol) , and then I have to go on duty and wait before I can log it...