GRAIN VALLEY, MO – With less than a month before the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate comes into effect in the United States the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has submitted an exemption request for small business carriers.

OOIDA has requested at least a five-year exemption for motor carriers classified as small businesses according to the Small Business Administration in the Untied States, and with no attributable at-fault crashes or a Carrier Safety Rating of Unsatisfactory.

Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the OOIDA says small-business truckers who have proven their ability to operate safely shouldn’t be subjected to the regulation, citing cost as a barrier to obtaining the devices.

Spencer also cited self-certification by vendors of the devices as one of the biggest issues brought up by the group, calling the devices unproven and uncertified.

“Most small-business motor carriers can ill afford to make these purchases only to learn later that the ELD is non-compliant. Yet they are required to do so or risk violation,” said Spencer.

The OOIDA says they are concerned because the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has stated that they don’t know if the self-certified ELD’s listed on their website fulfill regulatory requirements in the mandate.

The organization says a five-year exemption would provide necessary time for ELD manufacturers to be fully vetted by the FMCSA, which would alleviate small-business motor carriers from learning that they purchased a device that was non-compliant or presented owners with cyber security issues – another concern of the OOIDA.

The groups says that the general conclusions of a leading research firm were that some devices do very little to follow cyber security best practices and are open to serious compromise.

The OOIDA has been consistently against the mandate, having supported attempts to delay the measure.

The exemption request was submitted to the agency that regulates motor carriers, the FMCSA.