Leading Fleets, Vol. 9, 2016

19 LEADINGFLEETS COM AMERITFLEETSOLUTIONS COM beginning and ending mileage readings from the vehicle the distance between each GPS location recorded the route the vehicle traveled the total distance traveled the distance traveled in each jurisdiction the vehicles unit or other identification number The IRP provisions are effective now IFTAs provisions are effective for audits completed after 2016 well before the ELD rule takes effect Both IRP and IFTA go on to say that even if the GPS records a carrier produces for audit do not include all of these elements the records may still depending on the nature of the carriers operations be acceptable for audit Both IRP and IFTA impose significant penalties on a carrier that produces no records for audit or whose records are so deficient that they cant be audited IRPs penalty is an additional assessment of 20 of the registration fees calculated on the carriers original IRP application and IFTAs is a 20 reduction in the carriers miles per gallon ratio or simply a reduction of its mpg to 40 at the states discretion This can be a lot of money for a carrier 4 GPS Factors to Consider So what does a motor carrier preparing to use a GPS system to produce its IRP and IFTA distance records need to consider There are at least four different factors First the GPS system must be able to produce records usable for distance reporting In the ELD rule FMCSA lays out the specifications a device must meet if it is to be found compliant for purposes of HOS enforcement If however a given device does not also have the basic capability to produce records of the type needed for IRP and IFTA reporting if for instance it cannot print out records that meet those requirements a carrier cannot use it for that purpose Second a system used for IRP and IFTA must produce records that are precise enough To protect a truck drivers privacy FMCSAs rule outlines that the location records provided to law enforcement for HOS compliance may not indicate a vehicles location more precisely than one mile while the driver is on duty and 10 miles when he is off duty This is nowhere near precise enough for IRP and IFTA since an auditor must be able to determine what roads a vehicle actually traveled on In addition the ELD rule specifies that a compliant device must record location at least hourly This may not be precise enough for purposes of distance reporting under IRP and IFTA since an hours travel in urban areas or near state lines may require more frequent GPS readings in order to determine the routes and miles traveled Third IFTA requires that a carrier retain its distance records for three years and IRP for five and half years FMCSA by contrast only requires driver logs to be kept for six months If a carrier is going to rely on GPS records for IRP and IFTA reporting it must ensure their retention for the longer periods And for IRP and IFTA a carrier must keep the raw GPS data for the required term as well as the other records since an auditor will want to test it for consistency Finally raw GPS data consists only of a series of latitude longitude readings at specified times Thats not useful for either HOS compliance or for IRP and IFTA reporting Under the ELD rule a compliant device must translate the raw data into information sufficient for enforcement to determine if the driver is HOS compliant It need not also translate it into the kinds of records useful for IRP and IFTA That will require additional software It may be that the data produced by some ELD compliant devices may simply not be translatable into a format usable for IRP or IFTA With respect to all of these factors a carrier must confer carefully with its GPS supplier if it intends to use GPS data not only for HOS compliance but for IRP and IFTA reporting as well Carriers should not assume that a system adequate for one purpose will be adequate for the other and must perform due diligence with regard to their suppliers assurances that a system designed to comply with the ELD rule will also suffice for distance reporting After all when an IRP or IFTA auditor shows up at the carriers door it will be far too late LF Photo via iStock com About the Author Robert C Pitcher serves as Vice President State Laws for the American Trucking Associations and has nearly 40 years of experience in the area of state taxation of transportation and other industries Pitcher received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Chicago and has been admitted to the bar in Illinois and the District of Columbia