Prior to ELD mandate, many fleets used an Automatic On-Board Recording Device or AOBRD. These AOBRD are hardware equipments that can be directly connected to the vehicle’s engine, and are used to document a driver’s Hours-of-Service, in compliance with DOT. According to FMCSA’s new instruction, fleets that use AOBRD have to ensure that the devices are updated with certified ELDs by December 2019.

The reason why AOBRDs are required to be updated to ELDs is because the latter is more definite and authentic, as there is very less driver intervention in editing the data. Here are some points of differences that AOBRDs and ELDs have:

ELD

Recording

• Date and Time

• Number of Miles Driven

• Engine Running Status and Hours

• Location

• Other datas like duty status, logging status, malfunctions, etc.

Location

• Change in status of Duty

• Location recorded automatically

• Period of breaks in during driving

• Record of yard moves and authorized personal use

Accuracy

• For on duty – 1 mile

• For personal transport – 10 miles

Record of Edits

• User credentials

• Time of edit

• Records cannot be altered, but edited with annotations

• DOT inspectors can check edit history

• Duration of driving cannot be edited

AOBRD

Recording

• Engine Running hours

• Time and Date

• Location

• Duty Status

• Duration of Drive

• Number of miles driven

Location

• Change in Duty status

• Location can be entered manually

Accuracy

• Unknown

Record of Edits

• Driving time can be edited

• Edit History not available

1Yard Moves: Driving within a customer’s yard, receiver’s facility, rail ramp, maritime terminal, other similar facility or location.

2 Authorized Personal use: Off-duty time as allowed by company and opted by the driver.

The modern ELDs proffer a wide range of data – hard braking, driver behavior on speeding, fuel use, vehicle inspection reports, IFTA automation, and much more. The analysis reports and data generated by the ELD compliant platforms reduce the paperwork, keep fleet manager updated of the driver’s and the vehicle’s location in real time, allows for planning of a better route, and increases overall operational efficiency.

In light of the changes in ELD instruction, Matrack Incorporation has laid out a breakthrough piece of technology – MA3000. It is FMSCA approved electronic logging equipment, with Bluetooth technology for uninterrupted connectivity. Some of its brilliant features include:

Voice activated status change

Violation Notification

Low fuel alerts

HOS logs

Real time and Idle Time tracking

Accident reporting

Maintenance Check alerts

If your fleet is currently using AOBRD, it is high time to update to ELD. You will require time to train your employees for successful transition, making sure that all the devices and applications are fully operational. It is mandate that AOBRDs should be updated to ELDs is because the latter is more accurate and authentic, as there is very less driver intervention in editing the data. Also, the sooner you have adopted ELD, the better chances are of you diverting noncompliance or any other regulatory issue.