TEXAS – Truck operators in the state now have some new requirements to uphold, as Texas looks to institute electronic logging devices (ELDs) to record duty status of its drivers. The state passed a new bill that will require truck operators to begin using the tech pieces by Dec. 19, 2019, with a special exemption for agricultural operators.

This announcement makes Texas the first state to issue its own ELD requirement for intrastate truckers. A move that Joe Rajkovacz, Head of Regulatory Affairs for the Western States Trucking Association, said to Overdrive Online that other states will follow as well. Some states, such as California, have already provided pushback on the code.

Texas’ bill was made to step in line with the federal government’s mandate requiring the use of ELDs for interstate truckers. Though the new Texas bill simply points to the U.S. Department of Transportation code on ELDs, it is currently unclear whether the state’s laws will also include the federal exemptions. 

The state has also made a special provision for truckers of our own industry. According to the bill, truckers hauling agricultural products within a 150-air-mile radius of a category’s point of origin or distribution during harvest season will be exempt from the strictures.

The federal mandate, first instituted in December 2015, requires nearly all truck operators to begin using an ELD to keep track of their hours in service by Dec. 18, 2017. 

There seems to be a mixed reception on the use of such devices; with some claiming they breach operator privacy, and others upholding their implementation to create a safer work environment.

As other states look to institute their own mandates, or resist doing so, AndNowUKnow will continue to report.