The recalled electronic recording device has been added back to the approved list

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has reinstated a recently recalled electronic recording device.

On May 23, FMCSA announced that the Blue Star ELD had been re-added to the list of approved devices.

The device, along with another ELD, had been added to the agency’s recall list just a day earlier.

FMCSA then determined that the ELD was removed from the approved list because it did not meet the minimum requirements set forth in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A, which requires that “an ELD without a printer be designed such that the display can be reasonably viewed by an authorized safety officer without (the official) entering the commercial motor vehicle.”

According to the agency, devices can be re-added to the approved list after revocation if “the ELD provider corrects all identified deficiencies.” FMCSA did not specify what Blue Star ELD did to correct the deficiencies that landed the device on the recall list.

Restoration of electronic recording devices

While this may be beneficial to device manufacturers, carriers trying to comply with ELD requirements may run into conflicts over device disposal and restoration. Last year, the agency allowed many devices to be re-added to the registered list, only to have them revoked again, raising questions about the accuracy and effectiveness of the process.

Some of this is due to federal regulations governing how a device can be re-added to the registered list.

Under federal code, ELD providers that have had a device recalled have 30 days to send the agency an explanatory response:

• The ELD provider’s reasons for believing the facts on which the agency relied in proposing removal are incorrect
• Or the actions the ELD provider will take to correct the deficiencies identified by the FMCSA

If the ELD provider “provides a response in a timely manner,” the agency “will review the response and withdraw the notice of proposed removal, modify the notice of proposed removal, or confirm the notice of proposed removal, and notify the ELD provider in writing of the findings.”

Federal regulations provide that the agency “may request from an ELD provider any information that FMCSA deems necessary to make a decision under this section.”

Since the mandate went into effect in December 2017, the FMCSA has enabled businesses to self-certify electronic recording devices. Currently it is There are 987 devices on the registered list. The agency does not endorse any of the ELDs on the list.

Likewise, manufacturers can also recall their devices themselves. In fact, of the 187 ELDs currently on the void list, only 23 have been voided by the FMCSA; the remaining 164 have “self-cancelled” status.

The lack of oversight of registered and recalled devices is a concern for carriers trying to comply with the ELD mandate. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association told FMCSA that a comprehensive certification process would go a long way toward alleviating these concerns.

“It has become abundantly clear that the decision to allow self-certification has seriously harmed motor carriers because defective and ultimately non-compliant devices have been placed on the agency’s registry,” the association said in comments to the agency in November 2022. “By mandating the use of ELDs, the federal government must take the necessary steps to ensure that all devices listed in the registry are compliant.

Carriers can obtain updated information regarding the FMCSA’s ELD rule here. LL