What must a driver do when an ELD malfunctions under 49 CFR 395.34?

Short answer

When an ELD malfunctions under 49 CFR 395.34, a driver must:

1. Note the malfunction of the ELD and provide written notice of the malfunction to the motor carrier within 24 hours

2. Reconstruct the record of duty status for the current 24-hour period and the previous 7 consecutive days, and record the records of duty status on graph-grid paper logs that comply with 395.8

3. Continue to manually prepare a record of duty status in accordance with 395.8 until the ELD is serviced and brought back into compliance with this subpart

The rule says

"Note the malfunction of the ELD and provide written notice of the malfunction to the motor carrier within 24 hours" (49 CFR 395.34(a)(1))

"Reconstruct the record of duty status for the current 24-hour period and the previous 7 consecutive days, and record the records of duty status on graph-grid paper logs that comply with 395.8" (49 CFR 395.34(a)(2))

"Continue to manually prepare a record of duty status in accordance with 395.8 until the ELD is serviced and brought back into compliance with this subpart" (49 CFR 395.34(a)(3))

In plain English

When an ELD malfunctions, the driver must notify the motor carrier in writing within 24 hours and start keeping manual records on paper logs that meet the requirements of 395.8. The driver must also recreate their duty status records for the current day and the previous 7 days. The driver must continue to keep manual records until the ELD is fixed and compliant again.

What to do

• Notify the motor carrier of the ELD malfunction in writing within 24 hours
• Start keeping manual records of duty status on graph-grid paper logs that comply with 395.8
• Reconstruct the record of duty status for the current 24-hour period and the previous 7 consecutive days
• Continue to manually prepare a record of duty status until the ELD is serviced and brought back into compliance