November 20, 2017: FMCSA promised ag waiver, 150 air-mile clarity, and personal-conveyance guidance before December 18. The mandate still started on time

What the notice actually said

Two weeks before December 18, FMCSA said it would publish transition guidance. The package named a 90-day agriculture waiver, agricultural hours-of-service exemption clarity, and personal conveyance. The agency also said it was prepared for December 18, 2017.

Federal Register publication “within two weeks” of this release was the next step. The mandate date did not move for dry van. Comments on guidance are not a stay of 395 Subpart B for a Chicago box.

Listening to agriculture was not a repeal of ELDs for everyone else. Deputy Administrator Gautreaux’s line was ease the transition without dropping the rule. That is still the only honest reading.

If a 2026 clone vendor cites “FMCSA delayed ELDs,” they are stealing a 2017 agriculture sentence. Our fleet was never in that waiver.

Personal conveyance existed as a provision; this memo promised formal guidance. The March 2018 release is where the extra waiver and the April 1 enforcement script actually landed.

What it changes on Monday

We planned December 18 as a real date. Motive. No paper-log nostalgia. A comment process on guidance did not buy a Chicago dry van another year of paper.

Companion: April 2018 enforcement. Mandate parent: two-year clock. Later hygiene: 79 devices.

Owner-operators still need a registered device. OO page. Appointments still fit the clock: deferred loading.

Dispatch: +1 (847) 702-8181. If someone forwards a “delay” screenshot, send them this page and the March 2018 follow-up.

What we will — and will not — do

We will not treat this promise memo as a repeal. December 18, 2017 started on time for dry van. We were on ELD that day.

We will not honor a 2026 clone ad that steals a 2017 agriculture sentence. Different folder, different waiver, different fleet.

Human on the desk: +1 (847) 702-8181. Motive on the windshield. The mandate date did not move for us.

Short glossary

The jargon, in the order it showed up — no extra theory.

Transition guidance: How officers and industry were told to handle the first months — not a second ELD rule.

Official sources

Read the government original first. This page is our translation for people who quote lanes and hire drivers — not a substitute for the rulebook.

FMCSA ELD transition guidance (Nov 20, 2017) — Primary newsroom original.

This page is an industry briefing for shippers, brokers, and drivers. It is not legal advice. Confirm current rules in the Federal Register and on FMCSA.gov before you change a process.

FAQ

Did Dec 18, 2017 get postponed?

Not for general interstate trucking. Agriculture got a temporary waiver path. Dry van’s date did not move.

Personal conveyance invented here?

The provision existed; this memo promised formal guidance. The later 2018 package is where more of that text landed.

2017 still relevant?

Yes, because people still lie about “the delay.” A 2026 clone vendor citing this sentence is stealing an ag line.

PRIDEUSA?

ELD on day one of the mandate for our operation. We were never in the agriculture waiver.