With the implementation deadline for the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate looming, there has been a flurry of activity from both critics and supporters of the rule. Last week the American Trucking Association sent a strongly worded and controversial letter to the FMCSA supporting the rule. Now OOIDA is hitting back with its own letter that not only supports the fight against the ELD mandate, but slams the ATA’s “lack of basic understanding.”
The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association has been fighting the mandatory ELD rule since it was proposed by the FMCSA. When the rule was finalized, OOIDA took it to court, and attempted to appeal the pre-ELD decisions all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Once OOIDA failed in the courts, they appear to have refocused their efforts onto policymakers. Recently, a report from the House Appropriations Committee floated the idea of delaying the ELD compliance date. The very next day, Congressman Brian Babin proposed a bill in the House which would do just that.
Rep. Babin’s bill and the report that preceded it sparked a flurry of reactions from transportation groups. Now OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer is adding OOIDA’s voice to the fray, asking acting FMCSA Deputy Administrator Daphne Jefferson to delay the implementation of the ELD mandate until December of 2019.
Spencer’s letter for the most part stays away from listing reasons why OOIDA is against mandatory ELDs in general and instead says that a delay would “provide your agency the additional time needed to avoid a failed rollout.” The FMCSA does indeed have a history of implementing new regulations with shaky starts. Some major regulations have even had to be suspended or overturned entirely by Congressional mandate due to unaddressed flaws and rushed legislative processes.
In the letter, Spencer even brings up a recent GAO report in which the FMCSA received a spanking over its failure to keep its systems and procedures updated. He offers up that this may be one reason why the FMCSA might be in over its head, writing: “If FMCSA has been unable to ensure its current systems are working effectively, how will the agency be capable of properly handling a newly implemented regulation that requires the transfer of massive amounts of data in less than six months?”
But Spencer didn’t direct OOIDA’s wrath just against the FMCSA and its ELD rule. He gave the ATA a special beating of its own over the letter it sent to the FMCSA, especially since in it they called themselves “the nation’s largest and most authoritative voice representing the trucking industry.”
“Despite being the self-proclaimed ‘most authoritative voice in the trucking industry’, ATA by no means represents the hundreds-of-thousands of crucial owner-operators and independent drivers working within our industry,” Spencer wrote in the letter.
Perhaps the most inflammatory statement the ATA’s letter made last week was that the only reason people oppose mandatory ELDs is “because they intend to cheat on their hours of service” and to “evade compliance with the existing laws and regulations.”
In response, Spencer called those claims “wildly inappropriate and dishonest” and pointed out that “whether through arrogance or ignorance, the letter also illustrates ATA’s lack of basic understanding of why small-business truckers – and those echoing our calls for a delay – have such strong concerns with the ELD mandate.”
Source: gobytrucknews, fightingfortruckers, ooida, ccj, overdrive
Max says
with driverless trucks on the horizon, this is almost anti-climatic.
VanHorne says
Between that, overburdening gov’t interference, and piss poor treatment by nearly every trucking carrier out there, …is it any wonder so many of the nations carriers can’t find enough drivers?
The smart ones are getting out and finding other work while they still can. Maybe the powers that be will wake up once enough drivers leave the industry that commerce begins to truly suffer. It’s just a shame truck drivers cant band together to just walk out for several days to make a point.
D Mass says
Hardly surprising with the anti union sentiment in the blue collar industries and America in general these days, backed by unlimited political corporate cash.
A Class says
It’s time we Grabbed our Balls and stopped moving freight for several days or maybe even longer to show these idiot lawmakers what kind of impact truckers have on the world .
Rob Nice says
Well said just 1 problem there r to many crybaby drivers that will say “I can’t afford to lose a weeks pay”. But I do agree with u that’s what we need to do. It would only take 3-4 days for the shelves to go bare then the general public will b raising hell with the poilatians.
Norb Lozada says
Thumbs up. The problem is as spoken a lot of truckers want something done but won’t do what needs to be done. You stop all the trucks for 3 to 4 days and you damb well know this country will grind to an absolute halt. How many fueling stations don’t get a tanker every day of the week? Not very many. What about produce? That is a non stop requirement to have moving. And those 2 things are just the tip of the iceberg. You set the shutdown of all trucks on the 31st of the month and continue it into the first couple days of the next month and real quick someones gonna get the idea that trucks and truckers are important to the infrastructure of this country.
Danny Meadows Sr. says
Amen , to beat this system is to obey the mandate . Consumers will do it for us .
Troy adam says
I completely agree with this statement. Been saying for recent years.
Bulldog03 says
Driver, that was done twice before 4-5 decades ago, most recent early seventies follow by union strike USPS/UPS. It worked then. But, today? Look around thousands over the fence waiting to jump behind the wheel with or without any proper training. ATA, major trucking industry magnates will support that. However, I do agree with you it will work for awhile, but it will stop the clowns from getting theirs ink….
MrYowler says
If we did, they would just hire more “trainees”, import more foreigners, and use more Mexican and Canadian carriers. If that still wasn’t enough, they would rush automated and drone trucks, and drivers from Pakistan would drive the drones wearing virtual reality headsets. If you think that we have any more power collectively than we do individually… you are (at best) mistaken. Too many of us can’t afford to risk the attempt, in any event, and shutting down for a few days (if it could even affect anything) would only push up rates for those who continue to run, and push our freight to other modes of transportation.
The only losers in a shutdown are us, and that is why calls for a shutdown never get anywhere. Please try to think of useful solutions. Rehashing the same old useless solutions gets us nowhere.
Oliver Von Bell says
Thank you for the most sensible I’ve read on this thread…..
William says
What balls ?
Zoe Ward says
Ummm, what’s a truckin’ gal to do? In case you missed it, we don’t have ‘balls’ to grab, whew for that! Have fun with that idea fellas, but please do it behind a tree or something, ok?
Trey says
Yes parking every truck for 3-4 days would do the trick. If the ATA actually represented truck drivers, we could possibly get organized
Linnie says
I personally think if all o/o”s of 10 trucks are less would shut down for 24 hrs the point would be made and heard world wide …..
Kim says
In order for that to work scabs will have to get on board and company’s themselves. it’s their bottem line after all
Gary says
I propose an idea for you guys and gals, everybody do a reset on a Monday and sit and relax somewhere till Tuesday night and don’t start back till Wednesday. If you could get every driver that holds a call A, then I think you may have a shot but that means getting everyone to do it on the same day and work together to get it done. Otherwise no company or politician will notice. The key is to get it to work to help everyone and yes a reset could and may help everyone and help towards getting the point across!!!!
Bulldog03 says
It may! Let’s roll and sit duck, no fuel purchases no loads.
Big dog says
Walk out it would cripple the whole country. You have the power unite walk out let the shelves empty you hold all the cards spread the word.
robert allard says
The government would most likely bring the national guard and try to haul that freight , the only way to bring these people on their knees is delay the pick up from the suppliers like perishable and meat processing reefer would have to run and perhaps out of diesel.
So the warehouse and producers would be pushing the government to react fast.
Just an idea.that would work.
Mike says
The government don’t have enough people to cover the millions of truckers if we decided to sit for four days. The economy would be crippled.
Whizkid says
That’s probably the most ridiculous comment I’ve read so far. First of all you delay the shipment ok say you do that for 3-4 days what’s going to happen 1-customer refuses the load because it’s late 2-shipper fines you for day your late 3-both of the above 4-let run out fuel and you will buy that load of produce especially if it sets for 3-4 days like suggest so tell me who wins and who loses here.
MrBigR504 says
I keep hearing shut down in October over on the “Over Drive” site! I sure hope we can get the word spread coast to coast so we can let’em know who keeps America moving!
Kim says
October when??..
Lance says
I have been saying that since 1981 when deregulation fully kicked in and ruined the freight rates. I had 40 years and 4 million miles on the road, with a perfect driving record, and had to take early retirement because of the carrier I was leased to requiring ELD’s. Most brokerage places are dishonest in my experience, I would only work for that one company, so screw it. I had a mechanical injection truck 100% reliable, and not about to go out on a financial limb with some computer truck, rates are too low.
Gail Morra says
Well, some of us don’t have that option.
Bulldog03 says
United we stand divided we fall! That’s what they have achieved, less talk more done. Non verbis Sed Operis.
Trucker's Wife says
Isn’t that the truth, @VanHorne. A walk out would bring the nation to a screeching halt. Point made.
Yogi says
What other work? McDonald’s is using a kiosk now instead of student and senior help. The big 3 are replacing workers with robots.
If you don’t have a skilled trade or a post secondary education, where else are you going to find work ?
William Hadley says
I need 5.5 years to my retirement. 2 years after a Navy honorable discharge I started trucking January. 1980. The industry writhing in turmoil from deregulation. Bullets and bricks flying. I kept a low profile. Two years later with a 2500$ down payment and an uncle co-signed I started leasing out to Companies in 7 years I went independent. Made it work..I Made It Work. Constantly seeing my hard earned dollars going toward Governmental mandates in the name of safety. I got beaten down by liberalism and their week economy. The ATA has always been the opposition. They idealistic socialism to control the trucking industry has ruined the livelihoods of Many Americans that are the backbone of commerce in the United States. I say our future depends on the strength of Many. I agree with the new administrations idea of peace through strength. It has never been more important than NOW to put and end to the Tierney of the ATA. Knock them out! We gain back dignity and self control. The lives of our future depends on stopping them now! Take out the ATA, take back our country.
Louis Linn says
Your idea should speed up the implementation of driverless trucks there by releasing the companies from worrying about electronic logs. That will certainly help you accomplish what you want.
Snakeyes says
Ditto
JR says
I’ve always thought the same.
Gadget says
True!!
Marv says
Just shut down the energy truckers they hold the key without them being gas,diesel,propane even natural gas nobody and I mean nobody moves
Will says
You can it’s the one’s with no back bone that won’t do it.
Randy Amrhein says
It would only take 1to 2 day and stores would out of food then the point would get across, you are so right companies treat driver’s like crap
Greg Robinson says
I agree, I have been saying that for over 3 years..!! PARK..!!!..You are a very smart Man..We All need to stick together on this and park..! Remember back in the 70’s the truckers had to park to get a pay increase??.. History can repeat itself!!! We need to be one.!! Park our trucks!! The World needs us, why do they want to keep us unhappy?? Treat us like puppets??. We need to stand up for our right,of the freedom of the open road..We are the ones that leave out families and homes to provide for everyone else in this country!! We are needed just like our military is!!.. The Strong,The Brave the American Truck Drivers!! We deserve better treatment from everyone, No Elogs!!!..Their is more Truck wrecks now because everyone is racing time, hurry hurry.. the clock is ticking…No Saftey with Elogs, Not enough parking!! Drivers get more violations with Elogs over finding parking,resorting to parking on off ramps and along roadways..many will die because of parked trucks.. We need to park!!!! Kill Elogs..Not People..!!
Robert Doll says
Im ready when you are boss!!
william hester says
Its time to stand together .not only for our self but think about you family .STRAKE. Just 3 days would bring them to there knees.. and if you can’t afford three days off you need a new job .
michael sumner says
so true …..the trucking industry is lost to corporate trucking companies , whom like most corporate companies control america .
soon ttucking companies will be to big to fail and americans will pay them to stick around …lol
By the way there isn’t whole lot of owner-operators or independent Drivers they are all company lease drivers…….. big difference
Dennis Feyhl says
Agrees with a walkout
Leightony says
I strongly agree with this view point. We has drivers play a very vital/important role in this industry, and the only way to be that strong voice, is to come together as one solid unit.
John holt says
They can if everyone sticks together
JD says
Your right. Most drivers are castrated and scared and lazy to work toward unification of this industry. We are the most powerful group of ignorant people who only think of more miles than more pay per mile. Without us there is no Wall st. Or main St. Most drivers can’t or won’t equate pay of 30yrs ago and the cost of goods,services with today’s pay and today’s cost of goods,services. Less pay 30 yrs ago bought 150% MORE stuff than more pay today buying 150% LESS stuff. Like the ostrich who sticks his head in a hole and hope this rotten pay (pay you make divided by hours your out on the road) will miraculously increase. United we stand, divided our pay continued to be 💩💩💩💩y.
Stewart Jones says
Driverless trucks? They can get a driverless car to work. It killed some one, already.
Anyway keep your paper logs. Even if they implement it, ( as if they’re ready to even get it up and running) if your electronic device doesn’t run you use paper logs. Believe me those damn things go down all the time. Even for companies. Their capabilities can’t handle it. So you’ll still be on paper. Unfortunately they’ll force you to buy this device that don’t even work.
Mark says
If you really think there will be any common use of “driverless” trucks in the next 50 years, you are delusional, lol.
les gvt says
they will be here soon- just make sure we stay off the sidewalks. Take a serious look at what Bezos is doing to Whole Foods. You have AI about to restock all shelves, cook your hamburger , drones deliver your pizza.
We will all be on welfare until AI decides we are useless and eliminates us
Jim Getten says
Driverless trucks are a mega carrier dream. The reality of legal issues and state regulations not to mention insurance companies will put them years if not decades out of the current transportation picture. This and
the vast spaces that exist west of the Rockies will require human drivers for quite a while.
Paul says
“Driverless Trucks”; I call that the rail system and nobody wants it.
Every container neatly stacked and following a perfect line…
We’ve already got it and we’ve had it since dirt was new and nobody wants it.
M.B says
Never going to happen max.
Farmerbob1 says
They still have engineers in trains, and trains run on rails.
Driverless trucks might seem like a thing, but they will flop the first time a family gets run over by a driverless truck. The company that made the driverless truck or wrote it’s software will be sued into the stone age, and driverless trucks will be kicked off public roads.
zee says
the push is to remove the engineer/conductor from trains, just as it is to remove the long haul ATA driver. The President of Prime said it a few years ago at an ATA /TLC meeting. More profit is the game.
Stop the trucks only one day….the message will get across. By the way,
you don’t pick up a load…it’s a rolling day off….wherever you mt, that’s where you stop for a day. You can register a harrassment complaint against a company if you notify it you are ill and cannot drive. OSHA and FMCSA. Think it through, it will work. It has a cascade effect.
zee says
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/traffic/i-70-will-be-first-connected-highway-in-colorado
for you drivers who don’t think robotic trucks are a possibility….
Rich Collins says
Driverless Trucks…..can’t wait!! Kinda like blindfolding a Werner driver and sending him into NYC👍
Ron T says
Good ol Gov’t boys mandating how a person makes and spends his hard earned dollars. I’m an ex driver going through school to go out and drive again. I see that the pay scale has inky risen a nickel per mile and with the ELD implemented, carriers are telling us students that 2500 miles is about average per week. So just because one person is incapable of working long hours at a job even if they aren’t inherently lazy or fat the rest of us that are capable get screwed and our pocket book suffers. So just like the schools that teach at the speed of the slowest kid and hold back smarter kids, here in trucking those of us that can rock n roll at 4,000+ miles per week get held back. Always some Gov’t branch (Liberals) holding us back at the pace of the slow or lazy in this country. And trucking is easy prey for law makers. Trucker’s safety rates are ten fold compared to normal cars! More workers need to tell the Gov’t to F off and let a man (or woman) work and prosper and get your over regulated BS out of our face.
Keith says
Government regulations are formulated for revenue and control. Control of the masses and fines for us if we don’t toe the line. Those who fall for the “it’s a safety thing” are naive, gullible fools, with the proper slave mentality.
ROBERT TOUHEY says
I totally agree
Rich Collins says
If we said no to cheap freight, you wouldn’t have to run 4,000 miles a week.
Justin says
This rule is ridiculous if you are tired or sick and want to pace yourself on a load then you should be able to not forced to run when the so called law tells you to. The real safety issue is these large companies who are for eld’s I want to know how their drivers are able to pass a dot physical when they are so out of shape and overweight they can barely get in or out of a truck. I believe this is the real danger out on the road and also these companies allowing anyone with a heartbeat drive a truck.
Robert Doll says
Thumbs up for truth brother!👍
Paula Rettle says
The FMCSA has to be dismantled. You give a government agency power and they go berserk. They don’t understand what a trucker goes through. They just sit in an office and dictate. Give an industry to the government and destroyed forever. Support the trucking industry, the backbone of our country. They’re clueless.
Robert says
ELD is coming. Owner operator have known for two years and couldn’t get a device by now. Werner Enterprises has had e-logs for almost 20 years. So that blows the idea of not enough time. The owner operator are just pissed because now they have to log honestly. Cry me a river.
Trucker's Wife says
Really? LOL They will have to do no such thing. You really think that the e-logs can’t be easily hacked and manipulated? Maybe you don’t understand the nature of computers…
Hammer Handle says
That’s a whole lot of ignorance and arrogance all in one statement.
Billy Crash says
It’s mind blowing to see and hear so many drivers in support of a led. Next spring can’t get here fast enough for me.
Dale says
I had worked for Werner I know and all Werner driver knows that their log department also Chet with logs when ever driver is getting behind by up to four five hrs from delivery place. What a joke. Jerk.
Mike Stewart says
WERNER has lost MANY good contracts because of ELDs! One of them happened to be PACAR. So much for your thoughts that they are good for trucking!
Dennis M Wilson says
What is PACAR? If you’re referring to the company that owns Kenworth & Peterbilt, then it’s PACCAR. And, when PACCAR left Werner, who did they go to? Another carrier with electronic logs?!
Electronic logs do NOT have anything to do with a company losing a contract with a customer – shoddy or poor service do. I worked for 3½ years for FirstFleet, who serviced Kroger stores. They had electronic logs the entire time I was there, and never had any issues with Kroger because of ELDs. And, in 2015, I made $67,000 at FirstFleet – running electronic logs!!
Your argument – and ANYONE’S argument, including the OOIDA – against ELDs is simply wrong. The ONLY reason anyone would oppose ELDs is because they want to cheat on their hours of service, and run illegally. End of discussion.
robert allard says
Well said Dennis I think the same way.
With ELD the people involved into moving cargo around, now have to think about real planning instead of lying to their customers about’ Yes we will be on time “and yet they do not have a clue if the driver has enough hours to make that on time trip.
Kathy says
How about being able to to take a nap if you get tired or stop and have a meal or a shower and not worry about the “clock”” ticking away. Not having to drive if you don’t feel well. No as much about ELD as it is current HOS. How many times do you get within 25 miles of home and you have to shut down and sleep I. Your truck instead of your own bed? Is it unsafe to drive 25 more miles? I doubt. Yes there are outlaw drivers driving 36 hrs but I really think most of us are just the normal trucker who wants to set our own timetable to get our freight delivered safely for anyone and not be dictated by someone in an office who has never been in a truck. No so much about “cheating” as it is about actually doing it safer without being babysat!!!
MrYowler says
The fundamental problem, here, isn’t the ELD mandate, but rather the HOS mandate behind it. Had people been adhering to the HOS mandate, all along, the nap issue would have been apparent long before now. The issue is only now being raised, because the ELD mandate is creating a path to enforcement, for the HOS mandates which could previously be ignored.
This is not to say that the nap issue isn’t real or valid one – it is. There are lots of good reasons why HOS is far, far too rigid for real-world implementation – but it is fundamentally HOS that we are objecting to.
The reasons for objecting to ELDs fall more along the lines of cost, wasteful bureaucracy, and invasiveness. The safety and compliance issues people raise are usually really about HOS rules, which are essentially unenforceable, on any log that the driver has full editorial control over – and so those drivers who had that kind of control over their logbooks, did not have the same incentive to object, as they now do.
Cindy says
It may be the end of your discussion but not ours. I have been an owner operator for 27 years and my own authority for the last five years. Why do I have to pay for this unit I don’t want. Why do I have to pay a monthly fee to use it. It’s not about cheating, it’s about taking away what little money we get these days. The ELD,s are not going to make the roads any safer (the reason they give for wanting them) so why do we have to waste our hard earned money for people who are clueless.
ROBERT TOUHEY says
Investigate which congressmen and people will profit by the use of the ELD follow the money !
les gvt says
the real reason for electronic logs is this is the 2nd step in taxing you by the miles you drive in your personal vehicle at the federal level
Dave says
Sounds like a union driver
Robert says
Here is the end of the story. I am an owner operator and have eld’s in my truck. There are days when it screws me.and there are days that it doesn’t. Just look at who sits on the board.of the ata and you will figure out what’s going on. And people like this asshat who thinks being a company driver is what the industry is all about with his 67k grocery job and off weekends and holidays has the absolute on the answers. Truth of it is who are you or anyone else who thinks it’s ok to regulate me as to what I need or want in life?? Answer?? You’re just another wanna be bureaucrat telling everybody else what you want and think is right. I am tired of this argument that it’s about us owner ops wanting to run illegal. Well you know what F you. When you start making my payments then maybe I’ll give a shit about your opinion. Till then you continue to hold yourself in your lane and I’ll be in mine.
Dennis Mitchell says
Well said! Made 71K in my second year of team driving for large carrier. My son, driving for another company, was ran into head on in Wyoming by another truck driver that fell asleep at the wheel. The truck driver who caused the wreck was running multiple log books and had been running for 16 hours straight.
Luckily no one was killed but my son’s co-driver back was broken in the accident.
John says
We
Employ
Rejects
No
Experience
Required.
Robyn Creedon says
Werner is a big company that can absorb the additional costs. The companies OOIDA is fighting for are the small companies like mine. We pay our drivers well and treat them well. But ATA would like to see companies like mine put out of business by the overhead costs of running a company. It’s not about cheating. It’s about maintaining a business. Oh and have the ELDs made Swift, England, or many of the other big carriers safer? No.
Mary Hollie says
I agree. I am a small fleet owner that does power only. I could not agree more with you. I treat my drivers very well and hire only safe knowledgeable drivers. ELD will not improve safety.
Randy A says
Got that right only people can make it safe, these new drivers are a joke can not park straight so other drivers can park they only think them selves been out here over 30 yrs I just run 100 mile of house now days and happy to be home at night now and love been on my own sense 2002 screw these companies.
Rich Collins says
Well said ! The #1 thing lacking today is common sense. If they would mandate you take an IQ test before you can get your CDL. Accidents would decline drastically, and frieght rates would increase significantly.
Rick says
Yeah you are crying. It is the cost not running illegal. Go buy a truck and see what it takes to run one.
Snakeyes says
Wheel holder
Paul says
Actually the ELD is an egg timer that forces faster driving and eliminates naps; safe drivers drive slower, spend longer at brake checks and take multiple naps but the worst issue is beyond you…
Products will take longer to get to market and therefore cost more. Our economy will implode.
Shelli Conaway says
Well said.. I agree exactly!
Neal says
it should be a choice NOT A MANDAITE if company wants eld then so be
William says
I’m a owner operator and I totally agree with you !
Robert Doll says
Its what used to be called the 4th ammendment to our Constitution.. illegal search and ceasure.. look it up and go cry yourself silly how much weve lost of our freedom and freewill!
Richard says
Robert, I get broker loads from Werner and every other big carrier because they can’t handle the freight. These big companies just want to force the owner operators and small companies out. They are paying off the politicians so they can monopolies on more regulation.
Loke says
ELD’s aren’t the problem. HOS Regs as a whole are. Specifically the 14 hour rule.
Also, I think most of us understand by now who the ATA actually represents. The mega’s just want everyone else slowed down right along with them to stymy competition and the ATA is their lobbying lapdog.
Ed says
Those who think that ELD s are going to solve all the problems,so wrong . It’s not it will cause an increase in accidents for starters ,because more drivers are going to be racing the clock and so on
John says
Racing the clock and extreme stress due to having your life run by a black box. Both are high targets for accidents. Poor driver training is the biggest factor from many of the biggest transportation companies. The ATA is concerned about one thing only, how can we buy and manipulate Congress to get us more money? They have no interest in drivers. If they did, pay and retention would be better.
Robert G says
Yep. It’s ridiculous that you are flagged for six months, for a one second hos violation.
robert allard says
You are right I had to race against the clock to make it across the border from the USA to Canada I had 2 minutes left to drive before being into violation on my driving time I had this accelerator right to the floor 65 mph.just to make it.
Robert Doll says
Wowsa i think i experienced an adrenaline rush just reading that… been there done it…
skim says
The only arrogant people here, are the big mega companies who treat their drivers like puppets and children. They’ve gotten too big and are trying to rule the country, by manipulating gullible drivers and the freight rates. This is why deregulation was implemented! Now it’s back fired! These companies will hire anyone with a CDL, and it’s costing the lives of innocent people and children across the country. Wake up people…
Tom says
When I’m tired I sleep. When I’m not tired I work.
ELD will make drivers push it when they are tired, to get their miles “in the window”.
Michael says
Accidents involving big trucks are up since ELD’s have become more prevalent. Parking has also been affected. Drivers are parking earlier creating a shortage of available parking for truckers. Truck stop chains are taking advantage of the situation by charging high fees for reserved parking. ELD’s are expensive. Owners can purchase 3 years of paper logs for the cost of one monthly fee. Follow the money and you will find the real reason for ELD’s.
Maribel Zeilman says
As a owener up paying a 100$month for a very unrealiable ELD divise on my truck for last 3yrs plus seen the shop a huge megacarrier floaded with tablet that didn’t working goin for the third big mayor updated reset systems Ill say yes . ELD is been rushed over the irational through that computers always make it better than humans.
I drive safe and legal every day my ELD says otherwise. I spent countless hours at shop trying to get it fixed… but am still paying for damn piece of crap. I have been put OOS cuz log stop logging in the middle of my RUN. So DoT could not get the propper info thanks God I was not hit with a thousand dollars tickets this TIME. That would have been greatly unfair.
Lloyd Smith says
ATA represents u.s. express and large companies that went along to get along. Now these large companies are crying about what they chose and agreed with. They made their choice. Let them live with it. The E.L.D. and hours of service pushes the driver which is actually agains the law. It forces the driver to drive tired. If you are late because you get tired a company driver will get fired. Owner ops like me get a minimum 100 late fee. since these large companies have began using E.L.D. there have been far more accidents. ATA CAN KISS MY #@#÷’
Silverspur says
Much like OPEC, the ATA is a cartel that spends millions a year bribing Congress to rig the rules and laws in their favor in order to crush the little guy.
HOS, ELD, and the federal income tax need to be eliminated so it will be easy for individual people to own their own trucks. Owner operators have a very low accident rate and more of them are needed.
Let the Swifts, Schneiders and JB Hunts of the world sink or swim on their own merit and without the constant assistance of the BIG GOVERNMENT surveillance state.
If the government wants to keep the roads safe, enforce the traffic laws to prevent tailgating and excessive speed and do more equipment inspections.
The US government came up with HOS in 1939, before the interstate system, modern trucks that glide around like spaceships, satellite radio to keep drivers alert etc.
It is time to abolish HOS and use common sense for all. If a driver is sleepy, he/she should have the common sense to take a nap. If not, find another line of work. The
Bob Carroll says
ATA what a joke you are. You can not stand the competition so you want to come up with these crazy ideas.
ELD’s you made the choice on your own to put them in your trucks,most of the drivers do not like them because they are strapped to the seat,drive tired because the boss is watching, and figure the driver doesn’t need any nap during their 11 hours of driving. So when they quit in many numbers you cry driver shortage. Offer them a penny more as a bonus for driving 55 to 62 and that is suppose to keep them happy. You forget the boredom they go threw and get tired, the hazzard they are creating on the road. Wake up.
Last time I checked all these companies still had many log violations on their record and many more accidents and deaths. So wake up and see the real problem.
kenny loveless says
Bob you are 100% correct. as a small company with 18 trucks and drivers serving very small mom and pops companies that employ an average of 15 people each , i can tell you , the electroic logs will kill the economy in a short period of time. first in order for me to pay for this additonal cost , i will have to up my rates, this will cost these small customes more on both there inbound raw material and there outbound finished product, and if the industry will allow them to up there price for the product it will be past on to the consumer, but if compation will not allow the increase then they will have to lay off people or cut back on hours to cover the addition cost of transportaion, the average ave of my drivers are 50 years of age , they all like to take a short hour nap in the afternoon, around the 8 hr mark of the 30 min. brake, having that been said , to complete there normal day run they will no longer be able to take that nap, meaning they will be driving tired. if they go with the electronic logs , the goverment needs to throw out the 14 hr rule. allowing you to go into the sleeper and extent the drive time……. it needs to work to make the driver more relaxed, better rested and home more, the electronic log will add more stress to a stressfull job by keeping drivers out away from home more, that run out of hours just hours from the house… no good
Shelli Conaway says
You hit the nail on the head..
Mark says
All that he ELD does is enforce the existing HOS. If you are against the ELD, it’s because you want to be able it circumvent the HOS. All of that is true but the HOS is absolute crap so SHOULD be ignored when possible. To think that a single set of rules will work for all drivers, companies and facets of the transportation industry is utter idiocy.
John says
It violates your freedom of choice. I defended freedom and now they want to take it away.
William says
You don’t have any freedom of choice, do you not get it ?
ROBERT TOUHEY says
Then you need to push back. the driver is not a machine every driver has his own needs and ways
kenny loveless says
Mark that is not true – it adds an extra cost , to the company for the divice and the monthly fee for the service- the electronic logs will work good for drop and hook trucking companies, but for the guys that deliver to cold storage or to wal – mart with reefer or the flat bed trucks that pick up at union plants were it takes 4-5 hrs to load will be screwed. If you don’t get detention the driver looses out like always. the driver like always will loose out, there will be no extra money for pay raises if the companies have to spend thousands of dollors on these devices. reefer trucking will be a night mare , everything is by apointments, miss one and you will have to lay over for a day or so to get another, all said in done, the price for you milk and bread will go up. this sucks in so many ways, and none has to do with cheating.
les gvt says
no- the ELD is a precursor to the federal government taxing you by the miles you drive in your personal vehicle, I have it on video
Steven F. Ludovina says
Yes, a walk out or even blocking the streets of DC is in order especially when the ATA and their money has people in high places bought.It is sad when drivers have to work 1 3/4 harder than most people work a 40hr. Week. Maybe we should mandate a law that puts governors and senators a mandatory session of 70hours a week and if they don’t show deduct their salaries accordingly.
SFL
MrYowler says
You know full well that if you block the streets, your truck will get towed, and you will be fined. If you drive for someone else, they will fire you, and if you are pulling someone’s freight, that will be the last load that they send you out with.
This idea is actually worse than the shutdown idea, which is also a terrible one, in that it would free carriers to try outsourcing to Mexico and Canada, to start pouring undertrained wage slaves into driver’s seats, to import drivers from overseas unrestricted, and/or to speed implementation of driverless and remote control technologies.
But sure… you go ahead and park that truck in the intersection. Might as well hand over the keys, your wallet, you bank book, and maybe your home and family, while you’re at it.
I didn’t think that anyone would propose a worse idea than a shutdown. Congratulations. It’s rare that someone surprises me this way.
MrYowler says
Mandate a 70-hour week for legislators, and they will legislate hourly pay, and install bed-chairs, televisions, and beer fridges in the legislative chamber.
When term limits passed, legislators gave themselves lifetime retirement benefits for being on the job just a few years. Many double-dip, starting out as state legislators, getting retirement, there, and then moving on to the federal level.
Nothing that you mandate to a politician, hurts them. They simply change the terms of the mandate. You can’t win against the guy who writes the rules of the game that you are playing.
Debra Schrock says
Its funny to me. The drivers who like ELDS are those that dont know how to log and there are many. I have been in the meat and produce hauling industry for 28yrs., I can’t see this eld law working for my industry. The waste will be unbelievable! Produce and fresh meat has a shelf life of a week to 10 days. Rarely do we not have to wait anywhere from 1-24 hrs on product. We generally have 2-6 different pics. We sleep and relax while we wait, watch TV etc. So, the 14 hr rule will kills us and take 1-3 days of shelf life off the what used to be described as “fresh produce” . It won’t be fresh anymore. Unless you have your own garden.Only the biggest of the biggest get a full truck load of green peppers, lettuce, garlic etc. It is usually brought in smaller quantities for freshness and to reduce waste. Happy days America you will be eating semi stale produce or it will be loaded with preservatives. Meat will be frozen, rarely fresh. We drivers who wait 4 or 5 hrs for a pick up for free I might add, for we work by the mile, are going to quit hauling it because we aren’t making any money for we are constantly battling the 14 hr rule.
Teresa says
While I was on ELD’s I most definitely experienced more driver coercion than ever before.
Deliver at 6am wait all day for dispatch and at 10:30pm your given a load that requires you to drive all night…
Your dispatcher can’t understand you slept all night delivered in the am and waited all day for a load. Take a nap forget that when company wide mail comes over Qualcomm just to let you key chains are on sale in the terminal store. All day long the messages keep coming and each time you hear that beep you jump up to see if it’s a load.
Your dispatcher tells you you’ve had 10 off and must take the run.
Stick those ELD’s where the sun don’t shine
Jose says
You got that right
Concerned says
I just wonder how much money it took from the ELD corporations to buy this law?
What was free once ( paper logs) is now a cost. (ELD, monitoring, airtime…).
Please show us where safety has risen because of ELD implementation. I’ll wait
Chuck says
Exactly !!!
We need to DEMAND that the statistics showing the merit of forcing this MANDATE upon the industry are FACTUAL FIRST…… We all know REAL TRUTH is that as an average, companies that have adopted ELDs have INCREASED CRASH RATES !!!
WAKE UP AMERICA!!
THIS IS NOTHING BUT A GOVT POWER GRAB, FUNDED BY ULTRA RICH MEGA CORPORATIONS AIMED AT DRIVING OUT COMPETITION AND LOWERING LABOR COSTS!!
Wesley Cory says
The ATA doesn’t represent me. As far as ELD’s, I been using them for awhile now and although I agree they suck, there’s obviously not much we can do about it. As far as being forced to drive tired, the ELD has nothing to do with that. What we need is to do away with the 14 hour clock. The 14 hour clock is what is forcing driver’s to drive tired, speed through construction zones, and basically hurry in their everyday activities. Once that 14hiur clock starts, there is no way to stop it. THAT, is the main reason for the increase in accidents, not the ELD. Oh, some may argue differently, but I believe that the 14 hour clock is the main problem.
Victor Young says
You have nailed it!
Erich Whaples says
Since the implementation of the ELDS accident rates have already gone up by 30%.
And only 45% of trucks are using it, so when the ELD’s become mandatory in every truck, accident rates will probably triple.
Most drivers that use ELD’s have become more aggressive and more dangerous behind the wheel. I have had multiple discussions with state troopers and they agree that the elds are the most ignorant and dangerous thing the FMCSA has ever done. In the end I hope the ATA and the FMCSA has lots of body bags that will be filled due to this ignorant rule.
Nelson says
I have been forced to use ELD or lease canceled with Landstar, I had it my truck for over 3 yrs what everyone is saying against ELD’s is correcti lose money every day run it it, not only that but is also inaccurate for example had reset 70 hrs showing on ELD took off driving and revert showing 9hrs on 70. I called and missed the reset by 2min and had to do my reset all over aging. When I stop ELD stays on driving mode using up hrs Manuely have to turn to off duty. Is causing me to drive faster, drive more tired taking human flexibility to stop and rest when need it. ELD’s are great for industry’s that made them and making big profits from us.
Douglas Edwards says
Delta freight pays 88 percent with your trailer a whole lot better than landstar 65 percentage I don’t know if they require elogs but you will make more money anyway. Don’t get me started about 65 percent of 98 percentage
Douglas Kirk says
The 14 hour b.s. is the biggest problem, whether you have a paper log, electric, or no log. In my 35 years of driving I’ve always said the only way to be safe is sleep when you’re tired, drive when you aren’t. No line on a log book, no camera, no eye in the sky can ever make up for that.
George says
Douglas Kirk, only comment that is all common sense. FMCSA has no common sense, the reason most over the road drivers dont want ELD’s and prefer paper is not to cheat and drive over hours, it is because they want to drive with common sense. Example it is 3.30 in the afternoon and your clock is running, you’re approaching a large city, do you keep going because you have to and get stuck in traffic and get your self stressed out? or do you pull over and have a nap and wait it out? On paper a driver can make it look legit and he is keeping the roads and himself safer. There really is not a lot of cheating to drive extra hours anymore with all the drivers I know, they just want to drive smart, they don’t want to be forced to drive because the clock say so.
William says
If you can do it on paper, you can do it on eld !
clete says
exactly right,so why should I pay for the box and the air time if I can do it free on paper!!!!
Robert Doll says
My ELD draws in crayon ink. Hahaha
Joseff Scott says
The government should be focusing more on helping drivers maintain healthy lifestyles. I see it all too often drivers look fatigued day in and day not from violating hours but health wise they look horrible. I’m not bashing larger drivers I just see it more and more everyday
King Ronnie says
Here’s my opinion since we all are going to be required to use electronic logs. This would be a great time to implement a pay by hour positions for all drivers. The main reason that most drivers run illegal is to make money.
Troglodyte says
Show me the money.
The BIG ata companies started it by hiring Winos and Trash. Therefore, creating equipment graveyards and others unnecessary griefs and graves.
Werner competing at the top of the Scumbag list with many of their ilk.
Tyron says
Many of us drivers that know anything about the truck industry know about the lobbyist group ATA . The ATA has absolutely no concern for owner operators in this industry. The ATA objective is to corner the market for their donors. Owner operators are not the ATA donors so where does that leave the owner operators from ATA perspective, OUT OF BUSINESS!! That is why the ATA is OK with government regulations added to the trucking industry because they know that it is much harder for an owner operator to follow the strict government regulations than it is for their billion dollar donors. Hello DEF, hello re-gin, hello trailer skirts, etc….
Jasko says
Say no to ELD. If this passes then one day they will try implant a microchip in your body to easily track and control your every move. Just saying….. it’s happening.
MrYowler says
They aren’t asking. They are telling. The FMCSA implements it’s rules bureaucratically, but with the force of law. By that, I mean that no legislative process takes place. No voting, no elected representatives, no appeal short of the court system. The DoT chief signs it, and it’s law, and unless he signs something to change it, either Congress must pass a bill and get the President to sign it, or a court must overturn it. The public does not elect the people who write this kind of law, so we have very little influence or representation.
This was the kind of thing that incited the American Revolution. But – no surprise – that’s no longer a practical option, either.
They’re not asking us. They’re telling us. And “resistance is futile”…
David Workman says
Yes ELDS suck! That is why I left the big companies and work in the Fracing, (oil] industry. Make serious money, no interstate driving, paper logs, stay within a 100 miles. He’ll I make $3000. A week. 3500 if I work the 7th day! Just need driving experience and Endorsements, like tanker, Haz-mat. They will train you in the rest. I do not see any DOT for weeks . Screw the big Trucking companies. Just using drivers.
William says
Drivers have time and time again made statements admitting to falsifying Paper log books and the FMCSA has most of those admissions recorded.
Drivers DO NOT AND WILL NOT obey the regulations therefore requiring electronic surveillance. Truck drivers are not very bright and Todd Spencer is at the top of the not so bright !
Reuben Tutis says
Traffic delay, weather issues, unplanned loading time, a half hour late on the time clock getting home. The ELD says stop no matter what. No wiggle room. Even a senior weigh station officer told me a little fudging on the log is OK, he knew 100% compliance with random situations on a fixed time schedule is impractical in real life. And it really is. Too many drivers intentionally going way over time and making accidents cause problems. But mandatory ELD will cause serious problems in real life trucking also, especially with the truckers who run nonstandard random schedules (common with OO’s) and on occasion may be an hour from home for the weekend when their time runs out. There needs to be provision for over run for such occasions. If not it’s really going to mess things up for a lot of drivers occasionally in real life driving. And if it goes through there will be a lot of drives quitting. And the market for rebuilding pre 2000 trucks would escalate too I’m sure. That what I will do if I stay in it. The only way I’ll go with ELD is in two driver trucks. One driver? forget it. I won’t deal with the problem of a driver being stranded an hour from home because he ran out of time. I’ll shut down my company and do something else first.
crapola says
No rules and bring back those little red and blue pills so I can drive like a boss.
Hop says
for Swift convenience ELD forced me to drive 300 miles in 3 days. It’s all politics. Big companies bought out the politicians .
Bob says
these drivers using elds are racing against the clock all day long. They run like idiots, and don’t slow down in a 55,45,35,or 25 mph zone. The most dangerous drivers we ever seen on the roads.
Mitch says
Now, I’m sorry. That’s a lame excuse. You make no time in work zones or speeding in those lower speed zones. I hear that one all the time. It’s a pat answer that has no merit. Just something said by one who doesn’t want elogs says. The ELDs dont make anyone do that. You speed everywhere. Whether you’re on elogs or not.
Linda Merritts says
I agree trucks let the freight set 3/4 days and see what ATA does for the truckers. ELD will cause more accidents that ever before people are not machines. They know there job let them do it.
Istvan says
All big companies have many drivers who are reputable and earned their way into the million mile club. So you o/o-s beating up on big company drivers in general is just as unfair as electronic logs are. Not to mention your attitude going with your narrow minded opinion toward company drivers, when you see one out there. We are our worst enemy of ourselves and the big devil plays us against each other, can you not see it???
Last night (08/03/2017), there was a terrible loss of life and equipment on I-35 around the 80 mile marker when 3 trucks collided at high speed. The entire Interstate was shot down for a very long time! Truckers killed truckers! We are our worst enemies! Why cannot we get along??? Either O/O-s, or “just” company drivers??? Our enemy knows that, we can never have a united front to walk out and stop hauling for days in order to have our interest to prevail. When we cannot accept and respect each other out there, regardless what we drive and to whom we drive, our best interest will never prevail!!!
Paul says
I just left my delivery because they can’t have 50 truckers sleeping in front of their doors but my time ran out 15 minutes after I arrived there.
I drove 13km to Acheson Husky to sleep; I broke the law. I am now a criminal.
Fix the rules idiots!
Istvan says
I’m sitting and waiting at the Truckstop right now, waisting valuable daylight hours while I’m rested and not sleepy at all due to stupid electronic log control! When I worked for small companies before with paper logs, they cheated me out of my hard earned money couple of times. So, what good was it? Only to learn a lesson. And what I’m learning now is this: These so called electronic devices, or “tablets” they put in our trucks today, are doing much more than we ever “bargained” for! They, with their high output screens and antennas directly aimed at our bodies, are nonstop 24/7, bombarding us with powerful electronic waves. If you think that is an overstatement, check the facts pertaining to that. Why do you think brain tumors are so increasing and surgeries and death caused by it are on rapid rise? Cell phones are big contributors for most cases, but wait and see what these “tablets” will do in a couple of years to truckers, who will be exposed to their much higher than cellphone level outputs 24/7! Nobody has ever done any health study on these devices, on their long term effect on the human body and they insist to put them into our trucks and into our life either we agree or not! If for any reason this law should never be implemented, it is for that very important reason along with the privacy issue. Did you know that these devices are equipped with cameras and micks just as well? Not turned on yet, but who can tell when they are and come into our everyday privacy uninvited? This is very unAmerican, undemocratic and inhumane treatment toward truckers! Not enough yet to feed us at truckstops with the worse possible food and drinks to cause us many of the prevailing deseases, add to that now these so called “tablets” with high antenna power output to increase our chances to brain-tumor just as well!
Mitch says
My problem with the ELDs is that there is so many variances between companies. You can still make your appts with them. I run 650-700 miles a day depending where I am in the country. My issue is how far some companies will let you move your own truck, how much time,or how fast. Mercer allows you to move in a 50 mile radius of where you stopped last, as long as you let them know. You still gotta be on the clock. Whereas my company now allows me nothing over .5 miles, 10mph, or 5 minutes movement. I know others are different. There’s no uniformity. We need flexibility to move from a staging area to the dock door and back without tripping our clocks. When receivers make you leave their property before your break is up, you’re in violation and you reset your clock. Then it starts all over again. How can we be productive and still make money if were always having to reschedule drops, or wait for the break to be over before we leave? I know my body. When I’m tired I’ll stop. I don’t drive 4000+ miles a week. You don’t need to. Just pay us better, stop hiring so many drivers to keep pay down, and refuse to haul TQL or C.H. Robinson’s cheap loads.
Linda Nichols says
When store shelf’s are empty they can thank ELDs. Not the truckers who should have been on a shut down a long time ago. Americans won’t stick together. ……..Remember the .95 cents a mile last year, when truck stops were full? Brokers were having a field day . We went home! It was cheaper .
unclefungus says
If ELD’s are implemented industry wide. It will bring the entire industry to a slow grinding halt. The smaller companies and one truck operations will go out of business because of the initial cost of implementation. Then congress will step in and change the rules so we can get the shelves filled up again. The only ones left trucking are the major carriers. And that was their plan the whole time.
The ATA is in the back pocket of the major carriers. Pure and simple.
The biggest losers as usual are the drivers.
LoJack says
It’s funny that everyone is talking about shutting down, well there are two Facebook groups that have organized such an event. Oct 3-8. Trucks going to Washington. The two groups are ELD OR ME and OPERATION BLACK AND BLUE. check them out on Facebook.
James Chrisman says
Shut the tankers down for a week and see what happens
zoran spasic says
CONTROL Frigging Freaks They want to put you in a Box so they can control you. Forgive them God for they do not know what there doing It will come back to Haunt them. If you look at a lot of Trumps advisors there’s a lot of 30 something year olds. Same goes for DOT This is all so it will be easier for them to Audit, Fine, and Control trucking Co. and Drivers. They don’t know how to read or write they just know how to stick there nose in that frigging computer.
Ray says
Yes , I totally agree, we need to shut off our engines and stop hauling the freight we have in our trailers for few days, that’s the only way they will understand us.
Mack Daddy says
Looks to me like (this might seem crazy), the powers at be are still pushing the liberal agenda to lower the population. The cost of goods are dictated by the dependency of the trucking industry. Just like our divided government, it’s happening in the trucking industry. The ATA wants to control the entire industry with its greed and rookies. OOIDA wants to preserve the industry. Seasoned and Veteran drivers will be forced out while rookies continue to have wrecks. This will create a shortage of products on the shelves. The ELD will be the death of the industry which will create public disruption and criminal activity that eventually lead to government takeover and a meltdown of our nation. Yes, when the government gets into industry regulation, they create more harm than good. Take some time to analyze this theory. The ATA needs to be shut down and the FMCSA needs to focus on safety, not the greed. After all, the liberal government only cares about controlling the population to extinction.
les gvt says
ELD’s are not even about compliance or safety- they are about taxing you by the miles you drive in your personal vehicle. This is just step 2 (step 1 was requiring all vehicles have “black boxes” that can be read electronically).
Once these are on every large truck- within 4-5 years- you will see these being required on every commercial vehicle- including juniors car that he delivers pizzas in. of course the problem with this is determining how many miles are for pizza delivery and how many are just cruising the strip on Friday night- hence the solution- just read every vehicle- and tax them by the mile at the federal level- IN ADDITION to your state/county/city registration and taxation.
This has been the plan all along- since the early 90’s. I have a video of a meeting with REP Schumer, Pelosi, REP Wyden, HOyer, REP Bernie Sanders, Maxine Waters, about 15 people I don’t recognize off hand, President of Sierra Club, Ron Carrey of the Teamsters,Kirkland from AFL-CIO, and reps from UN developing Agenda 21 pushing need to get people into mass transit
justin freeman says
There will never be a day when all drivers sit down. It’ll never happen!!!
But, that is what it would take!!
That being said, after December I’m hanging it up after 26 years on the road.
owner operator john Q trucker says
ya ll got it all backwards . the eld is the best think that will ever happen to trucking . stop being a cry babies . leave cheap freight on the dock . dont take em loads if they cant load em or unload them fast . schedule your own appointments , dont let the broker do it , if he wants to do it , dont work for him . stay home if it aint worth it . thats what the smart ones do . if you need to cheat on hours of service you are only cheating yourself . if you need to work more than 8 – 10 hours a day to pay your bills than you are doing backwards and you need to do something else , trucking is not for you .
Troy adam says
For sometime now the trucking industry has been fighting,fighting and fighting against the government about how heavily our field is so regulated. The idea of puting restrictions in this field of work where in general most drivers love their job,whether it be a company driver or a owner operator we LOVED OUR JOB. It never was about the money(lord knows the pay has never been the best) but that we enjoyed traveling from state to state or to those fortunate ones that got the opportunity to drive in Canada and even Alaska. And have friendships with driver from different parts of the world. But now because of all these regulations, who h are funded by the cry babies and activists groups, crying that trucks should be restricted speed or times of travel lane restrictions on and on and on. To the point which there becomes less and less drivers wanting to stay driving. How sad is it that a job that was so respected so honored and appreciated by the masses of the people. I n my opinion and my opinion alone,the that we are needed because who else is going to take care of the needs of this great nation. I try and keep my head up and be curtious mind and helpful to my fellow man, but with restrictions and the influx of foreign entities it’s making my job much harder and not as liked. Just an opinion. God bless the drivers and their families for being the back bone of this great nation.
Kevin Bozukov says
in deed i support ELD .
But it need to change the total rules .
8 hours of sleep per day “24 hours day ” is a must ,and then the driver can do what ever he or she wishes to do “drive ,load ,unload, not drive ,sleep again or
drive for the rest of the time -16 hours” ,and 15 min off duty in between is a must .And that will be fair for everybody , including the DOT.
Kevin says
The biggest issue that I see, is that there is not a reliable ELD on the market.
I have been using them for the past 6 years and they are horribly inaccurate.
From inaccurate GPS tracking, units that lock up and have to be reset – with lost data, units that keep you on duty after you log out, inaccurate logs with lost time extending your work week .
I have to keep a daily journal so that when the unit breaks down I can copy my journal and give it to the IT person to fix the logs. And because of the rules the fixes always say “the driver forgot to log out” and “the driver forgot to take his break” – complete horse crap.
Before they impose mandatory ELD’s they had better find one that works properly.
Chris says
My only concern with ELDs is SAFETY. You have 11 hrs to drive but don’t feel like driving it what happens you get a message from your dispatch you still have 2 hours to drive why are you parked. You have 14 hrs to work and drive your stuck in traffic for 3 hours now your speeding to make up some time. And I’m not talking about 70+ mph I’m talking about 63mph in a 55 or even in a 45 mph zone. They preach that this will make the roads safer. You want us drivers to be what you consider SAFE fine start paying us by the hour. My current job pays me minimum wage but I guarantee I’m making alot more than most of you guys. I used to run with the best outlaws in the country. Why? To make money getting paid percentage or BTM the only way to increase your income is to drive faster longer. The faster you drive the more miles you drive the more money you’re going to make. I can still drive 800+ miles a day and putting in a 34hr reset on the fly but now I don’t have to I make a descent living running legal even though I’m only getting minimum wage because I stay out 14 to 21 days and I’m clocked in the whole time even if I run out of hours and have to take a 34 hr reset I’m on the clock.
Robert Doll says
Wow you make $1250 a week not too shabby.. no ot but pretty good sounding to me
kevin fluet says
i feel since its these corporate giants that seem to rule the roost…hell ya…make them use eld…they can afford it…as for the little guys let us continue working hard the way we have been. Its these corporate giants that benefit off our sweat. Why doesnt the gov.go after them and leave independents and owner operators alone….these giants are the ones that treat us like crap…ive beem to many many small companies where im respected…never a Walmart or sams or Tyson. ..ive personally boycotted them!!..also i use keeptruckin for my eld…on my tablet….it is compliant and easier than paper!!!
Chauncey says
They need to do away with the 14 hr rule i drive a dedicated rte which gets me home every day its gets tough when customer takes 2-4 hrs to unload,reload then i have to refuel and hammer down B4 hrs are up.
Patrick N Nuckles says
I just think it is the stupidest think ever invented back in 86 when I started you had plenty of time to get to a safe haven, now you fight the clock with no place to go most of the time you have to stop 2 to 3 hours unlike log booking and you drive harder now then back then it’s a pointless rule so therefore it doesn’t belong in the pointless forest Owner Opp ” Reckless Homicide ” keep on Truck’en 😎
Neal says
Well I just read A lot of good comments and concerns about ELD and the ATA .It sounds like to me we are tired of the government (fmcsa)telling us what we can and can’t do.So what do we do about this?it’s time to make are voice heard. And Now! We to let are Elected officials know on how we feel about this.we need to call Congress people and let them know your thoughts on this. We need to be heard.
Mark says
I’ve been using ELD’s for five years. Less work, better customers, more home time, more money – it’s been no contest. When you treat them as a tool, rather than a pair of handcuffs, they are an excellent tool for holding customers accountable for the time their loads require.
It will be messy, there will be rage-quitting/retiring drivers, and it’ll get political as hell, but ELD’s are going to force drivers and carriers, big and small, to actually pay attention to where all the time is going. Since drivers’ have collectively shown time and again that they can’t be trusted to ditch a carrier that doesn’t properly pay them for their work, maybe the ELD’s will finally make them sit up and take notice.
Jack Wagon says
agree to a certain extent, well thought out and typed. Who’s been using ELD’s for 5 years?
Big Mike says
Electronic logs are not a huge problem for me, but that is only because I do about 80% drop and hook. I am making good money, and I get plenty of sleep. Yes, the 14 hour rule should be more flexible to allow naps for some drivers. I’m not a nap guy, but I understand some drivers are. The thing that has to happen is that shippers and receivers need to be forced to pay drivers who are held up. IDK, maybe every customer should be forced to stamp in and out times on a official DOT time card or something. Like I said, I do almost all drop and hook, so I’m fortunate. No reefer or flatbed for me. When I ran paper, I used to run dead tired all the time. Driving till 0300, getting up at 0700, getting unloaded, napping (hopefully) , waiting for load, deadheading to shipper, getting loaded and many times not getting loaded till 1500, then running again till 0300. I wasn’t “forced” to, but you know you gotta make money so you do it. You know you’re illegal, but you do it. Not anymore. I don’t miss those days at all. Right now, unless it’s mostly all drop and hook, I won’t do it. It’s just not worth it. I do not race my clock. If I cannot make it, I call and they reschedule appointment. No big deal. I am lucky to work for smart people who know how to make it work. Most are not so fortunate.
MrNA says
Myth: ELDs enforce the hours of service. They ensure compliance.
Fact: ELDs record your movement only. They can and are manipulated to easily show on duty time as off.
Myth : ELDs make trucking safer.
Fact: There is no conclusive or scientific data support or evidence.
Myth: The current HOS are based on actual real time studies.
Fact: The HOS of service are based on simulations, unproven medical hypothesis and zero scientific data that crash reduction is improved.
Myth: Truckers are well compensated. Truckers are well trained.
Fact: Mileage pay does not include time spent inspecting, doing paper work, fueling, waiting, or any other uncompensated duties. There is no minimum training requirements to be a Trucker.
Conclusion: Increase pay and training based on fair expectations of performance and HOS and ELDs will be a moot point.
I’m sorry to quote my friend. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
MrNA says
Mark. You are the poster child. But unfortunately the exception . I applaud your success. However ELDs are being abused for productivity, creating more problems than compliance and cheated as much as paper. The first thing we can do is demand return of the sleeper berth extension rule and the 34 hour restart. You are smart enough to know those worked in compliance of the 14 hour and 70/8 days. As far as my own opinion on when I am safe and how long I can drive, that is not a one size fits all. BUT the best I have heard and agree with on that is a graduated system based on an individuals longevity and safety record. When calling our Reps and making a case we need to supply solutions and ideas instead of just bitching and threats. That is,what real businessmen ( and women) do. Call your Reps in support of Babins HR 2233
Indiana Mike says
Cheating as much as paper? That ignorant statement shows you have never run Elogs.
Markus says
Just wonder , why are most of you against ELD ? We all should be driving LEGAL – paper or eld !
If you so against it , get out of trucking. I drove with it for few years
local in Chicago, made same money like with paper log books.
Like it or not , we will have this things in our trucks , so quit your whining….
Jack Wagon says
Gubmint limiting your ability to make a good living… 37 years in, 7 years O/O, now back to Co. driver BTM grossing $1600 to 1750 a week. long week, in the truck 6 daze. but thats what it takes to make decent money. ELD’s will put a stop to that. and thus, limiting you to lower mid class status, not that that means a lot… but I digress. If they can do this, we are done. A national shut down is in order and would work. but not for long, maybe long enough to do the trick tho. ORGANIZE !
radford johnson says
i welcome the eld and the ensuing chaos to follow; soon the fmcsa will find what the real problem is: shippers and receivers…
soon the shippers and receivers will find an epidemic of delays as the small carriers they depend upon and take for granted struggles to balance compliance with shipper and receiver wasting of time…
Eddie Scott says
Some of those idiots making these screwed up laws should actually craw in a truck before making laws to where it’s gonna cut a mans pay so he can’t offord to feed his family. The government has it taxed so much, they should have to be the ones to pay or the ELDs if the law is changed!!
Chad Boettner says
I ran one of these for about y months and it was the MOST Stressful time I’ve experienced driving for 17 years!!! All you can worry about I’d that damn digital clock it’s ridiculous. I will guarantee these things will make the roads less safe as drivers push to contend with that digital piece of crap. That or you will end up in a turnover rate of astronomical proportion when people move on because they can’t make any money cutting their days short all the time to avoid the stress. More turnover means less experience and a potential of safety issues.
WorthKen says
When the French truckers, or what not, don’t like something the government does, or doesn’t do, they block all the major roadways, exits, on ramps, airports etc and if needed, burn tires. I’m not advocating burning tires of course, just pointing out that the French, at least when fighting for their rights, somehow find their balls. If we all stayed home for a few days, or just parked the rigs for a week, and I mean all – Americans and Canadians – the Big boys would not be able to replace us all with foreigners. There are three and a half million big rig drivers in the US and about 350 000 in Canada. Try to ship that many foreigners in a week, train them, qualify them all and replace us. I’d like to see that. However we will never do this, because we are a bunch of losers. that’s why we drive trucks. We can’t do anything else. And if we as individuals did not have the fortitude to stay in school, get higher education and organize our lives in such a way that we prosper, we sure as heck won’t be able to organize ourselves to protest. So all we have left to do is either leave and retrain, get education or open a business, which none of us is capable or ambitious enough to do, or keep doing what we’re doing until we die, or until the self driving trucks take over and we go back to doing what we wewre doing before we learned how to drive a truck. I know, truth is controversial, it hurts, but god darn it, honesty is cleansing to the soul.
Thomas Kirkpatrick says
ATA doesn’t speak for me , or any other drivers that I know.
Di'Dammie Thompson says
This may not matter, but then again it just might. A couple weeks ago, my husband and I witnessed an accident. Nobody was hurt thankfully. A driver rear-ended another truck leaving the truck stop that we were sitting at. Why???? It’s simple, his ELD was going crazy because dispatch was sending messages over and over. You have to hit a button to silence it’s ranting. Eld’s cause accidents. I’m willing to bet this isn’t the first time Simone has reached over to shut the noise off and caused an accident.
Jonathon says
I think its a great idea , finally the lines been crossed , all the good drivers will leave or go broke along with a lot of company’s.
A lot of company’s will be in more trouble than the truckers as a lot are reliant on forced dispatch , rates will skyrocket, the price if everything is about to go up. This will effect everybody not just truckers. As company’s stop paying independent operators the industry will fall flat on its face the real question is how will we recover, will we recover stock up sit back and watch the show . im on my way out getting the jump on jobs before the flood gates open
Chuck says
This is another scam pushed by LOBBYISTS !! Follow the money and learn the real truth…..
Mega fleets and mega govt want one thing….. CONTROL!!
This Mandate let’s them both control the LABOR that is in the truck….
If it was truly about “Safety” (it’s not) then let’s look at the SKYROCKETING CRASH RATES the last two years as companies have been adopting ELDs in preparation for the deadline… MANDATE !!
FACT !!!!!
jim Hackenberg says
i have been in the trucking buss. since 1960 o/o since 1961, i started trucking when i was 17 this government has destroyed this industry they never should have massed with the log books in the 1st place, they worked for years the way they were !!
Nate says
I think an underlying reason why the ATA is pro-elog and pushing for everyone to assimilate is that it levels everyone’s ability to cover their workload within 660 minutes inside of a 14 your window a day, and will inevitably result in more and more carriers fumbling loads and not making appointments and pissing their clients off, which in turn, puts more freight out on the boards and up for bid and available to the many huge carriers who belong to the ATA and run on slog. This is just one more means of putting financial pressure (lack of revenue) on smaller carriers and also causing them to purchase products and services that were not in their budgets before and causing them to raise their rates to make up for the expense of it, which then makes a larger carriers cheaper rates more attractive. I think the whole thing has barely enough to do with safety that one can still claim that it is to keep drivers from cheating on their logs, but the reality is that it will greatly benefit the mega carriers when the law is finally passed, and it is they who belong to the association who is pushing for it.
James Crawford says
Truck drivers on the source of America. I’ve never seen a boat, train, or plane pull a at loading dock. So if truck drivers are the source of America, why do truck drivers got to go through the ups and downs and curves in America? Being a driver 12 years, I’ve seeing trucks come off the road because they couldn’t afford the maintenance because of the rates being so low. Adding the Eld To Each truck most likely, will get the truck off the road, o/o is who I’m referring to an small business. The industry is about to take a fall because customers and brokers have to pay more money in order for these trucks to stay on the road but will not. You can’t pay somebody $2 a mile with a mandate like this. You can’t pay a little money to sit at a loading dock for 4 hours and expect them to be happy because they can’t make it to the destination when it needs to get there. I don’t think the FMCSA thought this whole thing through. I think the big wheels are making these decisions to Corner the market like Walmart. Very childish!!!!!!!!
Bill says
I have told many of my customers already that when this mandate takes affect in December they can expect NOTHING to be delivered on time. And when it’s late they can question the shipper for taking 6 hours to load or our wonderful government for tying the hands of small business to the point we have no maneuverability.
Doug says
Drivers could stop it all. Each and every one just needs to refuse to move their truck. Stop the country cold.
Oliver Von Bell says
You know, I’ve used paper and I’ve used ELDS. I made money using both. I didn’t see a big difference. Either way, it’s all about trip planning. I believe that it should be a choice as to how a driver logs his/her time. I also believe that since the government wants to mandate this, they should pay for it. How can a government mandate something without funding it? They didn’t buy the truck, or do the maintenance, or do anything else that cums with operating a truck. If they want to run everyone’s lives then they should pay for every single thing they mandate….that includes health care too.
Bill says
Everyone cheats including those already on elogs. Need to eliminate the 14. It’s only a matter of time before attorneys start figuring out that they can subpoena video cameras at shippers to catch people doing on duty tasks while logging sleeper. Message to eloggers and ATA…Just because you are logging your drive time accurately doesn’t mean you’re not cheating.
Jesus Sanchez says
Im says if u like electronic log book put in.if u have only 1 truck u don’t need.
robert thayer says
get on some of the truckers facebook pages, get informed voice your concerns, eldorme unified truckers council mother truckers just for starters use fakebook for some real information and be part of something. there is just not enuf drivers out there yet that are aware but the numbers are growing
Todd says
Having our logistics system relying 100% on electronic routing and data is inherently dangerous for the country. EMP weapons could completely disable logistics in this country.
rockytop says
The safest trucks in the world have been using paper logs or a long time and they are still safer then all the ATA trucks on the road