Industry word of mouth is that several major ELD vendors who have been promising AOBRD functionality are not going to deliver in time for the December 18FMCSA mandate.
The Geowiz AOBRD/ELD product has been in the market for several years and is being turned to as the AOBRD vender of choice for the ELD mandate.
“What we are hearing is that these other vendors have been selling thousands of units on the promise of AOBRD. We are also hearing that they are telling drivers it will be ready in January 2018 and that drivers can install it then,” said Dr. David Lady, GeoSpace Labs President.
However, federal regulations state explicitly that to be ‘grandfathered’ in an AOBRD MUST be in usage prior to December 18, 2017. The FMCSA also unambiguously addresses this question here: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/faq/can-motor-carrier-purchase-automatic-board-recording-devices-aobrds-bulk-quantities
“I have no first-hand knowledge of what other vendors are telling their customers even though we have multiple sources for this, but the literature is pretty clear that you can’t buy an AOBRD now and install it in January 2018, counter to what it would seem many people are being told,” concluded Dr. Lady.
The Geowiz AOBRD/ELD is in stock, and is a one-time purchase of under $200 and can be switched, when a driver is ready, from AOBRD to ELD at no additional costs at a later date. There are no monthly fees.
