Question 1

How will TenTrucks help my utility company?

Accepted Answer

Utility fleet tracking in TenTrucks puts every bucket truck and digger on one real-time map, alerts you at substations and yards, and plans service by engine hours. Each person is set to ELD, electronic logbook or Not required, so exempt crews never see a clock.

Question 2

Do my utility trucks need an ELD?

Accepted Answer

Not while they repair, maintain or run utility service mostly inside your service area. Those drivers are outside the driving-hour rules completely: no logs, no limits, no ELD. Trucks doing other work fall back under the normal rules.

Question 3

Are my telecom and broadband crews covered?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the exemption names telephone, cable TV, broadband internet and cellular work. The truck still has to be repairing, maintaining or running those lines, and stay mostly inside the service area.

Question 4

Does the utility exemption cover contractors?

Accepted Answer

It can. The rule looks at what the truck is doing, and owned, leased or rented doesn't matter. A contractor's truck restoring a co-op's lines fits. The same truck wiring a warehouse for a private developer doesn't.

Question 5

Do my line crews still need a CDL?

Accepted Answer

Yes, when the truck needs one. The utility exemption only removes logs and driving-hour limits. CDL rules, drug and alcohol testing, inspection reports when a defect is found and the yearly inspection still apply. A straight truck rated 26,001 lb or more needs at least a Class B.

Question 6

Do driving-hour limits apply during storm restoration?

Accepted Answer

Often not. A presidential emergency declaration lifts most federal trucking rules for up to 30 days. A governor's or FMCSA declaration lifts the hour limits for up to 14 days, and a local one for up to 5. This covers direct help like restoring power and phone service, not long-term rebuilding.

Question 7

Do non-CDL drivers need an ELD?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes. The ELD rule follows the truck, not the license: a truck rated 10,001 lb or more on interstate work counts. A non-CDL driver who stays within 150 air miles, returns to the yard daily and stops driving by the 14th hour on duty keeps no logs. That limit stretches to 16 hours on 2 days in any 7. In TenTrucks you set that driver to Not required.

Question 8

Do local drivers need an ELD?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. A driver who stays within 150 air miles of the yard, is released within 14 hours and gets 10 hours off between shifts needs no logs. The company keeps simple time records for 6 months instead. Utility crews doing repair work in your service area skip even that. TenTrucks only puts the ELD on the people you choose.

Question 9

Can you drive a truck without an ELD?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in a few cases. Local drivers inside the 150 air-mile exemption, drivers who need logs on 8 days or fewer in any 30, and trucks built before model year 2000 can skip it. Utility service trucks are outside the logging rules entirely. When a driver does need one, TenTrucks runs it from their phone and the TenTrucks device.

Question 10

Do you support dash cams?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on request. Tell us which dash cam your fleet uses and we'll connect it to TenTrucks.

Question 11

Can I track my trailers too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. TenTrucks integrates with SkyBitz trailer tracking, so you can see trailers alongside your trucks. Mention it on your demo and we'll set it up.

Your truck or driver	ELD needed?	In plain words
Bucket truck restoring power inside your service area	No	Utility repair work in your own territory is outside the driving-hour rules entirely: no logs, no limits, no ELD.
Tower or fiber crew maintaining cell or broadband lines in the service area	No	Telephone, cable TV, broadband and cellular work are named in the utility exemption.
Contractor's truck doing the same repair work for a utility	Usually no	The exemption looks at the truck's work, not the name on the door or who owns it.
Crew sent out of state to help after a storm	Usually no	Occasional emergency trips outside your area are covered, and a declared emergency adds relief of its own.
Truck hauling poles or transformers from a supplier far outside your territory	Depends	That's not repair work in your area, so normal rules apply. Within 150 miles of the yard as the crow flies and back within 14 hours, no log is needed.
New fiber build with no existing lines	Depends	The exemption covers repairing, maintaining and running service, not building new plant, so get an opinion first.

Utility fleet tracking. Logs only where needed.

Logs for the few who need them.

See every crew on outage night.

Know when trucks reach every substation.

Service by engine hours, not just miles.

Coach unsafe driving before it costs you.

Do your utility trucks need an ELD?

What TenTrucks doesn't do

Questions fleets ask us

Rules referenced on this page

More from the TenTrucks ELD

See TenTrucks set up for a utility fleet