The Ultimate Guide to US Vehicle Tracking Laws

If your business operates a fleet of vehicles, you need to know how to stay compliant with US fleet management laws. Otherwise, you could face steep fines or even lose the ability to operate your business’s fleet.

US fleet management laws have changed a lot in recent years, so even businesses that have been operating vehicles for a long time need to make sure their systems are up to date.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover all the latest fleet compliance essentials and help you ensure your fleet is fully compliant.

Key Takeaways

• The US DOT imposes registration, inspection, and reporting requirements for commercial motor vehicles that travel interstate.
• Commercial vehicle drivers who travel interstate are subject to hours of service regulations, which limit how long drivers can spend behind the wheel.
• Most commercial vehicles are required to use an ELD to record hours of service. There’s an exception for vehicles that are only used for short-haul trips.
• California has a regulation that mandates zero-emission vehicle purchases for certain types of fleets that operate in the state.

Commercial Vehicles

Most of the regulations around fleets are designed for commercial motor vehicles. These are any vehicles that:

• Weigh at least 10,001 pounds (by either gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating)
• Are capable of transporting 16 or more passengers, including the driver, and are not used for compensation
• Are capable of transporting 9 or more passengers, including the driver, and are used for compensation
• Are used to transport hazardous materials and require a placard

If any vehicle meeting one or more of these criteria is operated across state lines, it must be registered with the US Department of Transportation (DOT). In addition, you must update your registration every 24 months.

Most of the fleet management laws we’ll discuss below don’t apply to light trucks, small passenger vehicles, and other fleet vehicles that aren’t classified as commercial motor vehicles.

Hours of Service Regulations and the ELD Mandate

Nearly all commercial vehicle drivers need to abide by hours of service regulations. They impose restrictions on how long drivers can spend behind the wheel, how often they have to take breaks, and more.

Shift Limits

Property-carrying drivers are limited to driving a maximum of 11 hours at a time after 10 consecutive hours off duty. After 14 hours on duty (including breaks), drivers must be off duty for at least 10 consecutive hours before they can drive again. In addition, property-carrying drivers are required to take a minimum 30-minute break after 8 consecutive hours of driving.

Passenger-carrying drivers are limited to a maximum of 10 hours of driving after 8 consecutive hours off duty. After 15 hours on duty (including breaks), drivers must be off duty for at least 8 consecutive hours before returning to duty.

The driving limits for both property-carrying and passenger-carrying drivers can be extended by up to 2 hours during adverse conditions such as heavy traffic or bad weather.

60/70 Hour Limits

In addition to limits for individual shifts, all commercial motor vehicle drivers are prohibited from working any more than 60 hours over a 7-day period and any more than 70 hours over any 8-day period. These periods reset after a driver takes at least 34 hours off duty.

2017 ELD Mandate

As of 2017, nearly all commercial vehicle drivers are required to track their hours of service using an electronic logging device (ELD), also known as an electronic logbook.

ELDs attach to a vehicle’s onboard diagnostics system and automatically record data about when a vehicle’s engine is running, how much fuel a vehicle is using, what speed the vehicle is moving at, and more. Most modern ELDs also use GPS to provide information about a vehicle’s location.

The ELD mandate requires that drivers have an ELD installed in their vehicle. In addition, they must carry:

• A user manual for the ELD
• Instructions for how to transfer data from the ELD
• Instructions for how to address potential ELD malfunctions
• 8 days’ worth of blank record of duty status sheets (to be used as a backup in case of ELD failure)

Exceptions to Hours of Service Regulations

Hours of service regulations and the ELD mandate are federal regulations, so they only apply if a vehicle travels across state lines and requires a US DOT registration. However, a growing number of states have similar hours of service regulations and ELD requirements for in-state drivers.

Short-haul drivers who have a home base that they start and end at daily are exempt from the federal hours of service regulations and ELD mandate. To qualify for the short-haul exemption, drivers must never travel more than 150 miles from their home base and may not drive more than 14 hours per day.

Employee Privacy Laws

Fleet managers also need to consider state-level privacy laws when using ELDs. For example, several states require employers to notify employees that they’re being tracked at work. Privacy laws also limit how fleet owners can use location data from an ELD when an employee is off duty.

In essence, you need to ensure that ELD data, especially location data, is only used for appropriate business purposes. Ensure drivers know they’re being tracked at work and that only fleet managers have access to your fleet’s ELD data.

Vehicle Inspection Regulations

The US DOT requires commercial drivers to inspect their vehicle each time they start official duty and before they begin driving. They must also complete a pre-trip inspection report.

In addition, drivers must complete a post-trip inspection report if they detect a defect with their vehicle. Drivers of commercial vehicles used to carry passengers for compensation must complete a post-trip inspection report after every trip, regardless of whether they detected a defect while driving.

More thorough periodic inspections must be conducted on each commercial vehicle at least once every 12 months.

Reporting Requirements

In addition to registering commercial vehicles with the US DOT, you must keep these reports in each commercial vehicle:

• Crash reports
• A list of all violations detected during roadside vehicle inspections
• Reports for any other vehicle or driver violations identified by state or federal agencies

California Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation

California’s Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation came into effect at the start of 2024. It only applies in California at this time, but other states will probably impose similar regulations in the future.

This regulation applies to several specific categories of commercial fleets: drayage fleets, high-priority fleets, federal fleets, and state and local government fleets.

Drayage fleets transport goods a short distance between different transportation methods, such as from ports to rail yards. Under the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation, drayage fleets are required to register with the California Air Resources Board. Fleet owners will only be allowed to add zero-emissions vehicles to their fleets going forward.

High-priority fleets are defined as any fleet that includes 50 or more vehicles (including non-commercial vehicles), or any fleet that is owned by a company that generates at least $50 million in annual revenue. These and federal fleets can add only zero-emission vehicles moving forward or must include a varying proportion of zero-emission vehicles.

State and local government fleets must ensure that at least 50% of new vehicle purchases are zero-emission or alternative fuel vehicles.