E-LOGS

Discussion in 'Trucking Industry Regulations' started by Bumpy, Oct 15, 2009.

  1. bulletproof77

    bulletproof77 Medium Load Member

    557
    539
    Oct 2, 2009
    Victorville, CA
    0
    For what it's worth, we already run EOBR's AND the DriveCam's...No big deal..but then we get paid for ALL our time, no need to cheat. It's coming, get over it..No more Supertruckers !!
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. BigBadBill

    BigBadBill Bullishly Optimistic

    4,599
    4,438
    Oct 2, 2010
    Chattanooga, TN
    0
    It will end up in court and get shutdown. End of story.
     
  4. G/MAN

    G/MAN Road Train Member

    7,031
    8,621
    Sep 3, 2010
    0
    I never cease to be amazed at how many people in this country advocate and even encourage more government involvement in their lives.
     
    Force Fed Flesh Thanks this.
  5. Rocks

    Rocks Road Train Member

    14,899
    61,076
    Jan 13, 2008
    Somewhere
    0
    I heard legislators are trying to ban use of any electronic device while driving. That's why the devices - MPC 200 - my company has been installing in their trucks will not allow drivers to read or write msgs while driving. I don't know I will like to continue working with this thing....:biggrin_25512::biggrin_25510:
     
  6. Cowpie1

    Cowpie1 Road Train Member

    5,569
    4,646
    Nov 25, 2008
    Kellogg, IA
    0
    I have been using the MPC-200 my carrier installed in my truck since December. Actually kind of like the darn thing. GPS routing in mine does a pretty good job overall. No need to go out and invest in one of the commercial GPS routing units. Mine, I cannot enter or do anything (other than GPS) while truck in moving, but if a new message comes in, I can select it so that the computer gal inside the unit will read it to me over the speaker while I am still moving. Regarding the EOBR function of it, I really have no real complaints. But then, being on EOBR is not a real big issue considering my operating area. I primarily have limited my operation to the Upper Midwest for over a decade now. If I was running 48 and Canada, like I used to, then I might not be so comfortable with EOBR. I see big problems with an EOBR mandate regarding livestock and other specialty freight. There will be several unintended consequences if a mandate is put into place.

    Regarding whether individuals asked for permission or not from the feds for hauling freight, once you cross state lines, you have to deal with the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. Interstate commerce is a direct regulatory responsibility of the federal government as mandated in the constitution. That includes all regulations regarding HOS and whatever, since they can regulate the movement of goods state to state. How they collect this information is totally their discretion. Now, we can petition our elected representatives to oversee the regulations that they do not become overly burdensome. The other option, is to limit all your commercial activity to only one state. But then, that really doesn't mean a whole lot, since most states have adopted the FMCSA regs into their own state laws. Yes, you do have unrestricted access to all public roads and crossing state lines, but only regarding your personal activities. Once it goes commercial, then the constitution specifies that the government be involved in your activities.

    May not be what everyone wants, but you have to take that up with the guys who ratified the constitution in 1787. But they're all dead now.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2011
    Tazz and Yatista Thank this.
  7. Rocks

    Rocks Road Train Member

    14,899
    61,076
    Jan 13, 2008
    Somewhere
    0
    Being the way I am, I think I will become fed up with this thing and quit this company.... but since all companies in the near future will be forced to have this in their trucks... even O/Os, I will have to quit trucking.... :biggrin_2553: Good luck to all of you who stay in this industry.... I can't live with Big Brother dictating my life. :biggrin_25510:
     
  8. good for nuthin'

    good for nuthin' Light Load Member

    87
    51
    Dec 8, 2010
    Las Vegas NV
    0
    It will probably come soon.I have yet to have to deal with this,I like it better when it was 8/14x 70 hours.I cried when it changed. they said that when they changed to a 10/15 would help the driver but all it seems to have done is give a 34 hour discharge(no matter where you were stuck at)Our safety dept. has already warned us they were coming.I do local ,here in Vegas, so I'm curious how much its going to interfere with the ease and quickness of just writing it down on a log.
     
  9. ironpony

    ironpony Road Train Member

    17,502
    12,015
    Sep 23, 2007
    Ask my GPS...
    0
    It has nothing to do with having "Big Brother dictating your life." You still have complete control over how you spend your hours - and a thorough knowledge of the HOS rules is even more important.

    Unless you're all thumbs at a keyboard, it usually takes less time to deal with elogs than fooling with a pen and paper. If you need to annotate your stops, just take some quick notes during the trip, and fix it up at the end of your driving day.
     
    48Packard Thanks this.
  10. Cowpie1

    Cowpie1 Road Train Member

    5,569
    4,646
    Nov 25, 2008
    Kellogg, IA
    0
    I agree, Big Brother is not dictating your life if you are on EOBR and there are some nice slick ways to use it. And I like not having to redo a log sheet because I made a goof on one.

    One way to look at this is one that many do not consider, that of lawyers. Face it, a good legal team will be able to give you a complete anal exam regarding your activities, and paper logs will only make your life worse before they get done. If they can find a transaction you made somewhere, or see which towers your cell phone logged in to, etc (and of course, no matter what you think, they will find all this and more) and there is just one little discrepency in the last 6 months, they will have a field day with you in court if you are accused of something. The EOBR will eliminate another tool they can use against you. Big Brother has so much going on that they can't keep track of themselves, let alone watch each individual trucker out here. But if you are involved in something that causes them to look at you, then you had better match up that paper log to the last time you took a dump, because they will find something that they can use against you. One mistake drawing a line is all it takes.

    Sure, EOBR's seem like a negative, but they can actually work out in a driver's favor in the big picture. And having been on one for almost 6 months, and my NET revenue is the highest for those months in the last 3 years, then I am having a difficult time finding too many negatives about EOBR's anymore. Only those that have never used them come up with all the conspiricy theories and such and have a fit.

    But back to what I said before. Even though I have done a little adjusting to EOBR, and rather favor the thing now, I am dead set against any government mandate for their use. I don't like any more regulation. But the Government may be the least of anyone's worries. Insurance companies and lawyers are probably more a problem to a driver than the government in the long run. And just like carriers, many drivers may find that an EOBR just might save their bacon one day.

    That is not necessarily relinquising one's rights. It may work out the other way and protect your rights in court. Sometimes it is good to look at all sides of the issue before rushing to judgement. Try and remember when engines on trucks went computerized in the early 90's. Everyone had a fit about it, yet there is numerous cases where a driver has "beaten the rap" by using the data the ECM collected regarding speed, braking, etc. I, for one, have gotten out of a charge because the ECM showed that I was not at fault.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2011
  11. cruisecontrol

    cruisecontrol Medium Load Member

    340
    115
    Apr 13, 2010
    Rockingham, NC
    0
    I have used both paper and electronic logs, and I must say the electronic is alot easier, but my money dropped drastically. I personally feel like the 14 hour rule is killed with the electronic log.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.