UPS wins partial exemption from electronic logging rule for trucks

UPS Inc. has secured a partial exemption from a contentious new rule that would require truck drivers to use electronic logging devices instead of paper logs to track their driving hours.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Friday in the federal register that it has agreed to grant UPS a five-year exemption from parts of the regulation.

The regulation will soon mandate the use of electronic logging devices (ELD), which connect to the vehicle’s engine and record driving hours.

{mosads}The agency issued a final rule in 2015 requiring most motor carriers and interstate truck drivers to start using the electronic hardware beginning on Dec. 18 in order to improve safety and ensure that drivers are complying with hours-of-service rules.

But some in the industry worry that the new requirements will be costly and drive away truck drivers, and have urged the government to delay implementation of the mandate.

UPS requested a temporary exemption from the rule in order to allow an alternative phase-in method for certain fleets and to allow the electronic devices to be configured with a special driving mode for “yard moves.” It also asked for an exemption from having to record certain data elements, such as when a driver has a change in duty status or when they log in or out of an ELD while outside the vehicle.