A. As part of its Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has established rules covering retention of record of duty status (RODS) data.
Motor carriers must keep ELD RODS data for a period of six months, according to FMCSA guidelines. They must also keep a back-up copy of the data on a separate device for six months. It is the carrier’s responsibility to ensure that records are stored in a secured manner in order to protect driver privacy.
In addition, original records will be kept even after edits and entries have been made. Drivers have a right to see their records for six months. Access to records can be through the ELD itself or via another means the carrier provides.
The FMCSA and other authorized safety officials will not retain any ELD data unless there has been a violation.
In addition, carriers have to keep up to eight supporting documents for every 24-hour period that the driver is on duty. Supporting documents include:
- Bills of lading, itineraries, and schedules that show the starting and ending times of each trip
- Dispatch records and trip records
- Expense receipts that relate to on-duty and non-driving times
- Fleet management system communication records
- Payroll records, settlement sheets, or other documents showing payment to the driver
It is the driver’s responsibility to submit his or her RODS and supporting documents to the fleet no later than 13 days after receiving them.
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