
December 30, 2024
Starting April 1, 2025, intrastate commercial truck and bus drivers in Wisconsin, who normally record their hours of service on paper logs, will be required to use an electronic logging device (ELD).
Interstate motor carriers and, in most states, intrastate motor carriers have been required to use ELDs for several years.
Wisconsin is the last state to adopt ELD use for intrastate operations.
What is an ELD?
An ELD is a device or technology that automatically records a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver’s driving time and aids in the accurate recording of the driver’s hours of service, replacing the need for paper records of duty status (logs).
To be considered an ELD, the device must comply with the requirements of 49 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 395, Subpart B.
Identifying affected motor carriers, drivers
In Wisconsin, intrastate compliance with the hours-of-service regulations, including the ELD mandate, applies to drivers who operate:
- A single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), registered weight or actual gross weight of 26,001 or more pounds
- A combination vehicle with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR), registered weight, or actual gross weight of 26,001 or more pounds including of a towed unit with a GVWR, registered weight, or actual gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds
- A vehicle transporting hazardous materials requiring placarding or any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin under 42 CFR 73
- A vehicle designed to transport or actually transporting the driver and 15 or more passengers
Intrastate commerce includes:
- Not crossing state lines
- Not traveling over the border into and/or from Canada or Mexico
- Traveling between two places within a state, and the cargo is not part of a trip that began or will end in another state or foreign country
Exceptions to the rule
There are exceptions to the ELD requirement for:
- A driver operating a CMV in a manner requiring completion of a record of duty status on not more than eight days within any 30-day period
- A driver involved in a driveaway-towaway operation in which the vehicle being driven is part of the shipment being delivered
- A driveaway-towaway operation in which the vehicle being transported is a motor home or recreation vehicle trailer
- A vehicle manufactured before model year 2000, as reflected in the vehicle identification number (VIN) and as shown on the vehicle’s registration
Short-haul operations, other hours-of-service limits
The rule does not have an impact on Wisconsin’s intrastate short-haul operation exception or hours-of-service limits.
Under Wisconsin’s intrastate short-haul exemption, a driver may maintain a simple time record in lieu of a full record of duty status, as recorded on an ELD or paper log, if the driver:
- Remains within a 150-air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location
- Reports to and is released from that work location within 14 consecutive hours
This simple record must show the time the driver reports to and is released from work each day, as well as the total number of hours the driver is on duty.
This data may be recorded electronically or on paper.
The key is that the data must be able to be presented by the motor carrier to enforcement during an on-site audit or investigation of a motor carrier.
If a driver cannot meet the short-haul exception’s criteria and must complete a record of duty status on more than eight days within any 30-day period, installation and use of an ELD is required.
A Wisconsin intrastate driver continues to be subject to the following limits:
- Driving time: 12 hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty
- Duty time: 16 consecutive hours following 10 consecutive hours off duty
- Cumulative limit: 70 hours/seven days or 80 hours/eight days
- Restart of cumulative limit: 34 consecutive hours off duty (optional provision)
Impact on motor carriers
Though the mandate is still a few months away, carriers subject to the new rule should begin working toward compliance as soon as possible.
The process of obtaining and installing the devices and the training of all impacted employees – from drivers, to dispatchers, to management – can take a great deal of time.
Carriers should begin the implementation process now to ensure full compliance by April 1, 2025.