During his Senate confirmation hearing this week, Raymond Martinez, President Trump’s pick to head the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), was asked about the future of the ELD mandate. Though later on he acknowledged that the rule could “cause serious hardship,” he replied that compliance with the mandate is “legally required.”
Senator Ted Cruz was the one who asked Martinez about his views on ELDs during the hearing on October 31st. Cruz also made reference to the significant cost of implementation.
“The goal is to not cripple commerce,” explained Martinez. “The goal is to make roadways safer.”
But Martinez did appear to admit that he didn’t yet have a full understanding of the issue, saying that he would “want to meet with those involved in those areas who oppose the rule to learn more about their concerns.”
Martinez also said that he planned to have an “open door policy” to hear concerns from “the impacted stakeholders.”
Currently the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Martinez has also been the former motor vehicle commissioner and chairman of the Governors Traffic Safety Committee in New York State.
“Implementation of laws and promulgating regulations should be done with the best information available, and must be viewed by stakeholders as reasonable, rational and fair,” Martinez said in his opening statement. “If confirmed as FMCSA administrator, I would continue to pursue data-driven policies.”
Source: truckinginfo, fleetowner, safetyandhealthmagazine, thetrucker
Any official that deals with making rules for big trucks, needs to go for an OTR ride along in a big truck for at least 3 days.
Screw that must have 2 yrs varifiable tt experience in the last 5 yrs put a Joe that knows what’s going on in office 3 day ride along is just a vacation
I agree, 3 days just isn’t long enough. A lot can go on in 3 days, or nothing much at all.
I absolutely agree with having valid background and experience. We don’t need more white collars in there making rules they don’t have to live by driving down our Cent per mile because companies have to buy all this safety equipment for their trucks. Once again blind Washington vomiting out there proclamations that will affect and Industry that they you’re not even have an interest in selves.
Too bad we don’t have a ‘LIKE’ button on this site. Great post!
Exactly!
they should be done a way with, to much control over drivers .tell shippers and receiver’s they cant take over 2 hours to unload or load trucks .what you suppose to do when your out of hours and cant find a place to park theirs not enough places for trucks to park………
I agree with Steven, but it’s not practical not will it ever happen. So lets just give them a week to some of the worst delivery and shipping areas in the nation. Make them sleep on the side of the road, due to no parking, take a crap there too because no public rest rooms have truck parking along the way, and let them be subject to the young “green” attitude filled yearling DOT enforcer as well. The crappy attitudes from all the shipping and receiving personnel that you have to suck up to or put up with just to stay on schedule. Then there is everything else you endure while on the road. Maybe then they will have a small idea of what it takes as a driver in the most under appreciated and over regulated occupation in the industry.
Well said
Ditto that! Make sure there’s a NYC delivery included… and a west coast delivery that requires him to chain-up in order to climb that snowy mountain pass… :-).
Amen
You hit the nail on the head. All they are going to get done is make a lot of problems and get people hurt. Because most of these new drivers have no skill in planing or any thing else.why don’t they try to fix the problem where it starts instead they every thing on the drivers back
I agree with Nelson, but let’s take it to the next level let’s include truck safety in all driver ed courses in high school.
And if we have to have ELD’s, let’s take them back to the drawing board and let’s make them a driving tool, driver friendly.
I disagree. My younger brother is a member of a flyover state’s highway patrol force. My two older brothers are retired from driving. We were all sitting around shooting the breeze about what goes on out on the roads and younger brother called ‘bull’. He was adamant about his knowing more due to his more than 15 years on the force.
So I called his bluff and invited him to ride along for a couple days. He ended up spending about 10. By the end of the first day he was very silent. By the time he was off my truck, his whole tune changed.
As a result of this ride along, he managed to push thru a requirement for all new recruits: They must do three shifts worth of ride alongs before being assigned to active duty. The company I work for became a participant and still takes these cadets on board. Each ‘day’ must include a driver’s full 11/14 shift and totally must include day, night and late night periods.
So I do believe that these bureaucrats doing a ride along, even if only one day would help all of us.
How about send them through Atlanta and up the east coast
You’re right, Steven, although I think it would be even better to have someone with at least 10-years of driving experience (CDL-A) leading the ship at FMCSA… there’s too much of a learning curve otherwise.
I definetly agree
There Is NOTHING ” SAFE” about it !!! (We) as a O/Op , Trying to make us ROBOTS,, !!! It is evades our Privacy.. !!! U can’t tell a person when to Sleep. Everyone is different !!!!
No….at least 3 weeks to get a fair idea of the BS we go through.
Drivers already begged the government for ELD.
Big money companies, encouragement to new drivers for safety, vest, 30 minutes break, handicap stickers,and a lot of other things to make us the same, and we’re not. Some want to work some don’t. We are not the same some will some won’t, or can’t safety starts in mind , not in rules and regulations against those who will work or can.
I am talking about ELD ,
Say what?!? Most drivers I know don’t want ELDs. Where are you from? Swift front office?
WILLIAM,the only reason those drivers are begging for elogs is because they’re company won’t teach them how to use a paper log book because if they ever really I mean really learned how to use one they would never drive for those companies again
WILLIAM,the only reason those drivers are begging for elogs is because they’re company won’t teach them how to use a paper log book because if they ever really I mean really learned how to use one they would never drive for those companies
Still waiting on how elds save lives, only thing I see is good drivers getting out of the business, so there will be more and more new drivers, and less experienced drivers, which could mean more crashes, so much for elderly be the trucking savior, what a bunch of bs.
Will be more accidents more valuations delivery and PU never be on time
Problem with sleep plaice every ramp wil by full and also what happened if you go home and 1 hour or 2 you can’t make home you live truck in the streets stupid idea but you can win government but soon or later they see problem when economy drops people forget about one thing we run America our sacrifice life and heart ❤️ will be destroyed by stupid ELD if I can’t make money I return truck to the dealer and filed bankruptcy no problem
I don’t have a problem with ELD’s. My problem is all of these politicians making rules and regulations for drivers and have never had to sit at shipper for hours to get loaded, never had to go through donner’s pass during the winter, or even backed into a parking spot. Be a driver and understand our lifestyle before you go making all these regulations.
Great post, Rico!
That’s the sad thing we got drivers that have only used e logs so the know no better. And they are the ones talking how great it is.
As sad as the sheer number of drivers who lie on paper logs so as to not get caught violating HOS laws?
If you are an owner operator it should not make a difference. It hasnt for me, if anything it has made my life easier instead of keeping up with the book, no problem making money, no problem running when I dont want to or when Im tired. And my truck is not governed so I can still make good mileage. The true problem is the HOS and the lack of flexibility and the 34 hour restart which I think is BS.
That is such BULLSHIT! ALL drivers are going to be hit and hit HARD! Your driving hours are being eaten up by idiots at shipping and receiving because they can’t or won’t get the trucks in and out in a timely manner! They are not the ones losing money. ELOGS do NOTHING to make you safe, they make you lose money! The government needs to butt out and STAY out! I’m glad I sold my truck and retired! Enough of this garbage is more than enough!
There is still the trucking underground, where drivers run 3 log books
(paper) and have 18 hour days, amazingly some guys can do that, & keep doing it. Others think they
can, but are actually a great danger to all of us. Truckers & 4 wheelers. How do you square that huge variation? So it works for you, but imagine you’re a port hauler (owner-op) in LA. After expenses you can barely feed your family.
Now you gotta buy an ELD
System & CA just jacked your fuel cost by .32 cents a gallon! (The ports want to root out owner-ops, company drivers only.)
The big players in the trucking industry love all these new “Safety” laws/requirements”
Because few drivers are
Perfect, & the turnover
Is close to 80%. So 80% of the time, they only pay entry wages. Funny though, come August/ September all the medium sized companies NEED owner-ops to pull their trailers cause all the their newly trained drivers have flamed out. Swift and the big players want to eradicate owner-ops, & the odds are with them. By 2020 they won’t have a driver payroll
For long haul, fully automated trucks! Make your $ while you still can!
I have 28 years making a living as a company driver . I have used ELD the past 3years and I think it has a lot to do with the size of the fleet. I have run the same miles either paper or ELD with smaller fleets less than 50 trucks. If everything goes okay(no breakdown bad weather’ or accidents) you can run good miles because they have the same routes and you know where you’re backhaul is before you leave. I have run 4200 miles in a 7day 70 ELD and much less stress than 2200 mile with a big fleet and never knowing how my week is going.
It seems like most of the outlaw truckers hate the ELD concept.
Agreed mostly, but I do have to run tired because of HOS. let me decide and I will be both on time and safe. Only an idiot would take unreasonable advantage.
Exactly. Good comment.
Could you please speak for yourself and yourself only and not say that owner operator will not see the difference?!
When you drag your own trailer behind 100% of the time and have 0.0% drop and hook, when you wait at the shippers and receivers anywhere between half hour and 12 hours to get loaded/unloaded, when most of the pickup wait times from my state average 2+ hours, when you need that short nap but can’t take it because that clock is ticking, when I was able to go 700 miles a day legally but suddenly i only went 400 because computer told me i gotta rest when earlier that day i was stuck on dock for 5 hours straight….the only time I ever cheated the logs was in those circumstances of excessive wait times at the docks and still grossed +$250000 every year….so please don’t tell other owner operators that is ok to have this crap in their trucks, because you never know what others might be going through….to each their own…this crap called ELD will run me out of business comes the December
SNOWMAN, from one snowman to another you hit the nail on the head 👍🏻
I have only used eld and I been driving for 1 year and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out it’s horrible. I often have to pick between going to McDonald’s and eating in the truck instead of going to a nice Diner and taking a shower because once I finish it will delay my 10-hour break. Sometimes I have to drive longer and sleep on the side of the road instead of going to a nice truck stop because it’s forcing me to drive longer instead of me taking say a 6 hour nap when I’m tired. It forces me to drive tired or sometimes you’re try to run a red light or speed Because you need to make up 5 minutes to get to your destination elds are a joke! I’m not even sure I can agree with paper logs. If you’re tired and you cause an accident or you’re driving erratically sure other than that let me do my job!!
Rules and laws implemented and adopted by lawmakers who have NO idea what they are dealing with….go figure. ELD’s may be a good idea in some ways it is also a very dangerous idea in other ways. Drivers are racing the clock and taking chances they would not normally take to beat the clock. They should be set up for mileage limitations not time limitations. Why when you’re stuck in traffic or sitting for hours at a customer lying in your bunk watching TV should that time count against you. Again, laws implemented by people whom have no idea. Hire better and more well trained drivers, my dog can get a CDL these days. Get rid of 3rd party testing and make the requirements for obtaining a CDL more stringent that would be a start for better highway safety……
Absolutely correct, the FMCSA of 2010 is NOT a safety law but an example of a corrupt government and greedy carriers in collusion. They are unconcerned with Safety, for a Swift etc equipment (trucks/trailers) is cheap and a write off but payroll is the killer, literally. When I was there in 2012 turnover was around 85%
Guys with only 6 months total OTR experience
we’re Training new drivers too! At a Swift Terminal in Pennsylvania they have a trailer junkyard…. 1000’s
Several acres… spooky place…& every one = a job somebody lost.
Hours of Service isn’t the current problem, however parking for the mandatory 30 minute and 10 hour rest break are !!
No shit! And the industry is short about 50,000 drivers…. where are they gonna park?
The only objection to ELDs is that it will make it harder to cheat. Honestly, I like them.
You obviously are company driver
I guess so if you have a cheating problem. Or is your comment just towards all those ethereal paper log cheaters?
That simply is not true. It’s about being able to drive when you are capable instead of being forced to drive tired because of a piece of electronics. I have run both elogs and paper. Paper is far safer. I can stop any time I wish to do laundry, take a nap, shower, eat, conduct personal business, etc. You are simply ill informed.
I totally agree. This method just makes you work the full 14 hrs to achieve the same thing and than holds you hostage for another 10 hrs.
And you can do all of that on elog.
As an experienced driver, I know that you just admitted to cheating on your paper logs, not a big cheat mind you, like saying your delivery was at 9, your PU at 11, when actually you dropped at 10, & your PU is at 1pm.
Saves some of your 14 hour clock to actually drive after the PU, u sleep while they load.
I agree with you, you can be safe & rested too doing that. But Not all drivers stay smart (IE safe) about it like you. I loved ELDS but I’m a 10 hours straight, 500+ miles in the seat kinda guy, the last thing I want is to try and log when I’m dead tired & done for the day. As for the small cheat, I can’t sleep in short bursts, so
I could never run a split shift safely. But that’s the point isn’t it, they are making a square hole, but some of us are round.
Believe me. If drivers are bad at planning their day with paper logs, they will be worse with ELDs.
It blows my mind that unexperienced lawmakers are making laws for something they don’t understand. The people lawmakers should be listening to (drivers) are being ignored like we don’t know what we are talking about.
Here is the thing. Most trucking accidents happen to inexperienced drivers. Owner Ops and other trucking veterans rarely get into accidents. It would make more sense to make ELDs mandatory for those who lack more than 1 year ecperience. But most drivers in bigger companies lack experienced drivers, so it’s to their benefit to have mandatory ELDs even if it screws over the little guy that has been on the road years without accidents.
Exactly
Agreed mostly, but I do have to run tired because of HOS. let me decide and I will be both on time and safe. Only an idiot would take unreasonable advantage.
I’d almost bet there is no document showing all the different ways we run. We are all different, and we are not trains.
Too many drivers don’t realize the “boogey man” in the mix is the 14 hour rule. Back in the 10/8 days, when the truck stopped , the clock stopped also. The way it’s supposed to.
Amen
If your ELD the electronics will not force you to drive, even you have more drive time. If you know how to use it and you know how to edit if you made mistake, then your alright. Am sure the dispatcher or your DM will call you or ask whats going on specially your load is late but if your on time, nobody will force you as long as you know how to make your trip plan to make on time delivery and pick up on time. Then your stress, worry free. Some guys maybe they are against or they dont like to ELD , possible reason the ELD services charge maybe higher or whatever. ELD is good you can save your time for your rest instead you expend that time to write plogs. You put only ON for your post trip after 10 min. Changes to SL your done for that shift. They only problem if the driver dont know how to use it and dont know how to make a trip plan for delivery and next pick up assuming your planner is good planner. Right but if not thats another issues.
Cheating has nothing to do with this. You ever haul livestock? Try to tell a pig that you have to stop for 10 because a black box tells you to even though you are 30 minutes from the processing plant. Sound great to you? Price of meat will double in just 2 months because of ELDs.
That’s it, idiots in government will cripple
Refer guys, & livestock and they have NO clue.
Goods will go up, even Chinese goods.
Jerry brown just destroyed owner ops in Cali by jacking diesel 2 ways for a total of .32 a gallon increase. Port haulers are toast…. it will effect freight ..rates already is
what about the the loading and unloading, and just waiting times we face.
should that time be deducted from our driving time? I say no, these are rest periods in some cases too. tanks, flatbeds and the like is a lot different than straight up OTR. ELD’s will diminish our weekly pay and create more harship financially, especially in a credit based system
Fix the hours of service and ELD’s won’t be an issue.
Get rid of the HOS and ELD’s won’t be an issue. Just enforcing the speed limit and tailgating laws will cut down on traffic deaths.
Also, use the weigh stations to teach safe driving techniques using real life video simulators.
Also, get rid of all the third world truck drivers that can’t read, write or speak english. It’s a dangerous job that requires a responsible person, not a recently arrived moron that’s going to shut the interstate down for 2 days with his ignorance.
HE Had to admit he didn’t have a clear understanding of eld’s. Once you get to this part in the reading- just stop right there.
If you “stop right there”, you’ll miss that he also said that he “want to meet with those involved in those areas who oppose the rule to learn more about their concerns.”
The problem is that we’re so used to criticize, and headlines like the one used for this article, aren’t helping either.
We need strong voices representing us. Like many truck drivers have said before, ELDs have good and bad points. I understand it may be next to impossible to please everyone.
Exactly!!!…..and to want to hear why we oppose this ruling instead of asking those who made this ruling, is the same as Putting the burden of proof on the victim…….They should have to prove (with real numbers/statistics) how this will make the highways safer.
CAN’T!!!!! According to CSA numbers, companies WITH ELDs have a higher crash rate and a higher rate of speeding tickets. Safer? Where?
I dont belive 3 days is enough. But would give him a different out look. But do you really think they really care about drivers.
There’s a myriad of reasons why the eld’s don’t work for everyone. It’s not just because of cheating.
Its the same old b.s as with anything concerning trucking, “it’ll will make the roadways safer, even though I have no clue about the issue” . Don’t ya just love our congressman that want to come up with laws for an industry that they have no clue about.
These new age wanna b truckers are a joke,breaking on fuel isles,wearing sandals n shorts,I can see where they love elds it’s for the lazy driver
Driver facing cameras are next. Dont you just love trucking!
Their statistics probably gathered from the same group that kept saying hillary would be president up till the very end by a landslide 97% margin..
What they fail to realize is that e-logs won’t make drivers safer. Experience and common sense makes safe drivers. Look at the big trucking companies that’s been using e-logs for a while..I’m sure some of their accidents didn’t involve fatigued drivers..just idiots making idiotic mistakes.
Get rid of the HOS and ELD’s won’t be an issue. Just enforcing the speed limit and tailgating laws will cut down on traffic deaths.
Also, use the weigh stations to teach safe driving techniques using real life video simulators.
Also, get rid of all the third world truck drivers that can’t read, write or speak english. It’s a dangerous job that requires a responsible person, not a recently arrived moron that’s going to shut the interstate down for 2 days with his ignorance.
I read the comments about ELD’s I have no problem using it and accepting my loads to work with my hours.. i am use to recapping my hours. I have used paper logs when I ran container loads and watched how the small company would take advantage of drivers. I do believe flexibility On your 34 hr and 14 hr clock is needed..
Guess what it will cripple the industry. Rates will now have to up. But it won’t be a good thing. It will force food prices to go up . And the small companies out of business.
Yes, exactly, at the moment the quantity of freight moved “illegally”
By both the small & large paper logs “cheaters”
Is NOT a known or kept statistic, if that freight movement suddenly stopped, or slowed it would drive rates/commodity $
up. Also Refer delivered goods would actually spoil (refers & the cattle haulers are the big paper log cheats), if u had a business running ca. Produce/flowers to Chicago, You might be done with trucking!
There Is NOTHING ” SAFE” about it !!! (We) as a O/Op , Trying to make us ROBOTS,, !!! It is evades our Privacy.. !!! U can’t tell a person when to Sleep. Everyone is different !!!!
We have rights just like everybody else.When we sleep when we eat, shower or whatever. the GOVS should regulate the shippers and the receivers. Tell them they have 30 minutes to get us loaded and unlocked if they don’t 25,000.00 fine. How can you mandate the truckers which is a big part of the industry and not touch the rest of the industry. that’s one sides. the world is going to see just how wrong this is. Yall we have got to good home for a few days. We have got to do this yall. Lets get this going.Put of flyers at truck stops. We got rights! to.
Because the drivers are a fragmented group of individuals. The shippers and carriers are in organized groups that can generate $$ to donate to politicians to buy laws that benefit them.
Just kidding, it’s about safety, it’s for the children
When u start your day it comes with the pressure that you are on the clock,
As you know you never know how long r u going to wait at shippers and receivers.
If wait long your sleep schedule messed u gotta go.
I hope you guys like paying for beef and pork…..cause rates are gonna sky rocket in the livestock business. Have fun you putz!!!!! We can start a new business hauling all of our dead animals to Washington and dropping them at the gate.
Yup, the reality is they never thought of you cattle haulers, with any of these laws. they haven’t a clue how their meat arrives on the dinner table, they haven’t a clue that you all need a separate set of rules…. that take into account keeping your cargo alive to deliver!
One size does NOT fit all.
simple fact is; anything you force on trucks for safety would do even more for safety if you forced it on all cars.
My small fleet of owner operators have all switched to and ELD and have found certain aspects to be very beneficial. They no longer have to worry about turning in paper logs, they cannot make a math error, the actual operation of the ELD is better than paper. In my opinion the real issue is the 14 hr rule. Just yesterday I had a driver start his day at 8:00 am, make his delivery and be at his next pickup at 11:00am, using only an hour on duty/driving. His next load delivered at 8:00 am the next morning 380 miles away. He didn’t get loaded until after 4:30pm leaving him only 5 hrs to drive the 380 miles, which he obviously couldn’t do. So he did an 8/2 split. He waited until 7:00 pm then he could pick up his remaining drive hrs and restart his 14 at 7:00 pm and legally complete the load. He drove until 3:30am meaning he was up for almost 20 hrs. This is where the lack of flexibility in the 14 hr rule negatively affects drivers and in my opinion becomes a fatigue/safety issue. Allowing split hours as long as you don’t exceed 11hrs total driving in 16 hrs and get at least 8 hrs off consecutive in any 24 hr period would give that flexibility. Some say it’s a shipper/receiver issue, but they are not regulated and there is no way to enforce time at a dock. I welcome the use of electronics and any means to make the road safer, but the rules and the device don’t match up to reality and in the end I feel can make the roads less safe.
and I’m not sure where you come up with the math and miles on this driver being up 20 hours what are you even talking about take note drivers this is what’s wrong guys like this that know nothing about the rules or what we do out here smh
it just makes the job harder. Harder to find a place to park within time limits. I guess if you are part computer it is great. Maybe they can make it legal to just park on the shoulder. You just run out of time to make money so much faster.
The day an honest truck driver is put in that chair this guy is now all the abuse will end all those criminals starting from companies owners will end !!!!!
I was a component of non use of ELD’s.
I was travelling through a trailer park to pick up a load. I was moving slowly as the speed limit was 25, I was doing that or below. A ball rolled out in front of me , and a boy followed it, without looking either way. I had plenty of time to stop. The boy got the ball and ran back to the grass.
While I was getting loaded, I thought, If I had hit that child, on paper logs, I would be writing this from prison. The prosecutor would have gone through my paper logs, and HE would have found 15 min on some log that I made an honest mistake, and THAT my friends would have been enough to prove his case.
I ordered from that Dock a ELD and I love the free feeling, that ITS THE BOSS
out here, and not me. He ( the ELD) takes the blame, not me.
I looked at the money, since installing, looked at the fatigue, and make a little
less ( around $100) more rested, and a lot less stress.
I support ELD’s
Wait for winter all you fools that think EDLs are a good thing. We will have the most crashes on record with EDL pointed at the head of drivers having to be at delivery location. I’ve witnessed more speeding trucks doing 75 in 65 mph in my 37 years of driving. Be ready for all these EDL green horns to crash and burn killin your family and friends.
This will destroy the small businessman in the trucking industry. Thanks Trump, we believed in you. We thought you were for the small businessman, but big business pushes small business aside yet again with this ELD mandate.
Why does Congress continue to make rules for an industry it knows nothing about, while claiming it will make the roads safer? This is nothing more than kissing the big company owners ass. Thanks again for destroying small business in America and doing it under the guise of safety
Four wheelers cause over 90% of the accidents. Check the stats. You can find the stats with just a little research on the computer. I have driven over 3 million miles, hauling everything that can be moved by truck, and used the ELD and still the paper logs bring about safer roads and more drivers are under less stress, enabling a smoother operation and safer drivers, therefore safer roads and overall smoother operations and less accidents. Some of the laws that are in practice now are foolish and written and passed by uneducated people that are money driven by the huge companies paying corrupt monies to benefit themselves…not the hard working truckers. ELD would work in a computer world but they are not realistic in the real trucking industry/logistics industry. WE NEED A 5 DAY COMPLETE SHUT DOWN…THIS IS ALL THE POLITICIONS WILL UNDERSTAND. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY BACK TO A REALISTIC OPERATIONAL CONDITION. UNEDUCATED POLITICIONS ARE THE PROBLEM WITH THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY. TRUCKERS KNOW THIS, LETS DO A STRIKE-SHUT DOWN NOW!!!!! THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET ANYTHING DONE in the trucking industry today!!!!
Too late, (you’ve pulled all kinds, always work for you). But OTR will be driverless by 2020.
I agree the shippers and receivers are gonna be our biggest problem. They do things the way they want to regardless of the truckers ability to make the next load. My husband doesn’t do this to get rich but he does need to make a living. We have a mortgage and utility bills to pay just like most Americans. My job covers some of it but just incase anyone is confused it takes the larger part of the load pay to keep the truck moving.
I’m an O/O 32 years driving experience. The real problem is the 14 rule not ELD’s. It’s having to work around that 14 hour clock once you go on duty. If you have been driving long enough you’d remember the old 10/8 rule, that was the best version of HOS. The government is trying to treat the trucking industry as a 9-5 job with the 14 hour rule. I don’t mind the ELD’S been using one for 2 years, it’s the 14 clock is what needs to be changed.
Amen. That’s the real problem. Legal paper logs have the same issues.
Agreed Jon but I would prefer 3 weeks. I hope all drivers will begin to realize that this federal govt is at war with working people and has been for a long time. Drop Republicans and democrats from the equation. Both parties hate working people.
Can u say “citizens united”
That was the end of democracy as we knew it.
The talk now is to reverse it….once you give away that kind of power, those welding it won’t give it back. And no if they could replace us all with robots?
TOMORROW In a heartbeat!
Our gov’t is filled with people unqualified to shapen pencils, let alone make laws. So this just falls right in line, a man with zero actual trucking experience and little knowledge of the industry blindly accepting something as gospel. Let’s look at data, and see the coincidence between poorly trained mega carrier drivers and accident rates.
Why is the government filled with “unqualified people?” Because either people don’t vote for the right people, vote for their own interests, or don’t vote at all. At the end of the day, we did this to ourselves.
Oh and those carriers are SO busy burying that kind of data if they can.
But if you are a SWIFT the way the data collection is set up with FMCSA your sheer size protects you, 80% 1 year failure rate of recruits in 2012 … can’t imagine it’s any better now
I can’t sleep during the day. So if loading/unloading took longer than it should I will have to drive overnight without sleeping… So what is safer? Sleep when I feel that I need to sleep to keep driving safely or just go out there and kill somebody because I’m being told when to sleep?
I run regional, runs of 6 or 7 hours, then stop til morning. Run a few hours to the next pick up, then another 6 or 7 and rest. The only stressor is HOS. I have no need to drive more than 11 hours, and seldom work over 14.
The problem is the 14 starts when I deliver, and then it screws with my schedule. So I drive without rest to get it done. That’s not making the roads safer, it’s less safe than if I didn’t HAVE to drive to get to my drop 4 hours before I need to be there. Let me sleep the 4 h o.o urs and get there on time, rested. It’s not rocket surgery.
Too much common sense for a totalitarian government to deal with.
The government doesn’t care about cutting down on highway deaths/injuries. They are interested in consolidating their power over the truck driving peasant population. “We gotta bring these rednecks to heel” is the mantra they chant as they sit with their feet up on the desk and figure out how many days it will be until they can take a retirement from their $100,000+
per year government job with it’s 5 weeks paid vacation , 10 paid holidays, paid sick leave, gold plated health benefits etc. I had a job like this once upon a time and believe me these people hate those of us that work in the private sector. Repeat: HATE!!!
“But Martinez did appear to admit that he didn’t yet have a full understanding of the issue, saying that he would “want to meet with those involved in those areas who oppose the rule to learn more about their concerns.”
Martinez also said that he planned to have an “open door policy” to hear concerns from “the impacted stakeholders.”
So send your letter NOW to:
Raymond Martinez
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
United States Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590
If he does not have an understanding of the issue, why is he getting the job?
I hope Trump succeeds, but this is just one more example of how he says he wants to change stuff for the working people, but the reality is that we will still be luving our kives as slave no matter what the flowery rhetoric
is.
People that drive cars are going to be next in line for this electronic tracking and 24/7 surveillance. It does not end with trucks. Same with the cameras facing the drivers. It’s coming.
Do you really think Trump will succeed? I say no. Trump has a lot of money. The folks pushing elds have a lot of money. Birds of a feather flock together. Think about it man. Why would he care about a group of people he’s so far removed from?
Do you think CSA statistics will be enough proof to convince Mr. Martinez ? Instead of griping here. Write a letter put it in the mail.
Done..
ELD’s are not the answer. Never a good idea to have a one size fits all scenario. I agree with my O/Op colleagues. Our industry is already over regulated. The beaurocrats making these regulatory decisions need to spend some time out here on the road with us to see what is really going on. The do not have a clue.
We should abolish HOS altogether and get rid if the federal income tax also.
The federal income tax and all it’s loopholes give too much of an advantage to the big companies. If Schneider can hire drivers and have the government subsidize their pay, how is an OO supposed to compete against them for freight?
More traffic enforcement and vehicle inspections is the answer to better highway safety.
“I was sleepy and I didn’t know anything because I just stepped off the banana boat 5 days ago and they gave me a CDL even though I can not read or write in English” is not a good excuse for having an accident.
Pull over and take a nap if you’re so sleepy.
The system should be set up to encourage more people to be OOs. If you own your own equipment, you will not want to do anything that damages it.
What is the accident rate for OOIDA members? Probably very low.
After 34 years in the trucking industry I’m retiring at the end of November. I can honestly say that this industry has always been Its Own Worst Enemy. The way they operate the most crucial industry in a society is appalling. The one thing that has always stood out to me is the fact that the majority of the people in this industry don’t realize that if they all stuck together for at least a week or two they would get anything they wanted from the government because they would literally create an economic crisis that even the government could not fix. No matter what happens with ELDs in December the problems coming down the road at the American economy are very complicated and will not be solved easily. Every industry in this country that has been held back over the last 10 years is seeing a rebound and has not got the people it needs. Trucking is just one example. Construction, Manufacturing, Healthcare and other critical industries have serious personnel shortages. One thing I can tell you for sure is that if everybody sticks together in the trucking industry whether they run ELDs or not, the shortage of drivers and the increase in economic growth will only drive pay higher.
Well if you want my opinion on the ELD’S somebody hasn’t really done their homework they do not realize the domino effect this is going to have on our economy there’s a lot of drivers that refused to drive a truck with an ELD. This is going to make our prices on everything go up.
Why are our shelves empty well the truck was 30 minutes away and had to stop out of hours of driving because
The driver was in traffic for 2 hours
Because of a accident. If the company’s in this country had any balls this hold ELD would of stopped
It’s going to cost more to ship and that cost is going to be passed on to the consumer. lf you think I am wrong just wait.
Well another thing that could help this whole industry if we would do what we all did back in the 1970s even today your airplane pilots go on strike to get what they want their regulation book is about a half-inch thick I regulation book is about 2 inch thick think about it so if we all would just stop our trucks and say enough is enough this whole thing would be cleared up in no time so think about it fellow truck drivers the American Pilots that fly these planes stick together and they get things done we as a whole as American truck drivers I don’t understand why we don’t stick together and get things done can somebody answer that question for me.
Have them ride with a swift or US Express recently graduated driver for one week, then ride one week with a seasoned driver, and by seasoned I means someone who has been out here for at least 5 years.. THEN they will see the difference.. People keep writing your representatives and senators. The entire issue is more then just the ELD., but the HOS as well. Do away with the 14 hr rule, and the 10 hr straight break (8-2) The real problem is with the HOS, the ELD just makes those rules worse.
“The government is not the solution to the problem. The government IS the problem” …..Ronald Reagan
Right on the money, I don’t get why people don’t understand that.
Well Ronald Reagan deregulated everything. It did nothing for the working man, taking the government regulations out doesn’t help anyone but the man at the top. Why don’t people see that?
Adding more regulations have helped the working man, hardly.
The message from the government is clear :
If you have an independent streak and own your own truck, we are targeting you for extinction. When we take away your livelihood, you’re just going to have to go somewhere and die. If you don’t cooperate, you’ll be taken on a one way bus ride out to the country with the rest of your fellow refusedniks, lined up next to a ditch where you will each be given 9 grams to the back of the head, followed by a quick mass burial with an earth mover.
You Americans think that it can never happen here, but you don’t realize that the people that carry out heinous acts against so called trouble makers like you, these personality types exist in every country and are just waiting for the government to label the uncooperative types that don’t want to be compliant and spend their whole lives, every waking hour of the day with no time for their families, just to follow obscure regulations that were written so as to be impossible to comply with.
You will see the results of your apathy and your refusal to organize against this tyranny. They have taken their time to organize against you. They have done their homework on you troublemaker.
So tell us troublemaker, how do those shackles feel for you troublemaker?
Yes First they broke the unions, way back when, then the trucking titans colluded with the government on a sham safety law in 2010. this is all a long term calculated stuff
Data driven policy, that is driven by K street, welcome to the cesspool, you will fit right in.
I’m not a robot or a slave , no politician, insurance company, or transportation organization,or ELD, can tell when my body or mind is tired, let alone the hundreds of thousands of truck drivers in North America. While they take their three hour chauffeur driven lunch break ,we have to drive across town to get to a truck stop to find parking and eat the same crappy food as the last truck stop.While they their pay only goes up any bad weather or other delay our pay drops drastically When their day is done they go home and dwell in comfort, we on the other hand have to reside in less area than a person in jail.While they get a golden hand shake after only two terms,we are lucky if we make it to retirement,only to get some poorly manage government pension plan that won’t even cover the cost of food.To Trudeau and Trump and the CEO of the biggest transportation insurance company in North America ,give me one hour of your time ,together and we can save lifes and billions. The answer has been under our nose all this time. It doesn’t take a university education to get the job safely done .lets face it all the rules, regulations , groups( FMCA ) ,log books haven’t changed the statistics
When I started in the trucking business 24 years ago I was told that the reason we couldn’t be paid by the hour was that there was no way to keep track of the time. Well, now there is.
ELDs are legally required? Fine. You put a time clock in the truck. I want hourly pay, with overtime after 40 hours. The regulations already say that wait time at customers should be logged as on duty. I agree with that too.
Demand hourly pay just like every other industry has, including overtime. This is the only reasonable response.
I guess it’s depends who you drive for or who you are leased too. I’m leased to a carrier where about 70 percent of our freight is customer freight. We’ve had Eld’s for 7 1/2 yrs now. I’ve not lost any revenue. I’ve not experienced a 1/4 of the issues these drivers are saying. I’ve run out of hrs at shippers & receivers & when I was told to leave, I just type a note in the comment section that I can’t stay, put it on drive & took off. No worse than doing it on paper log. This BS that it shuts your truck down when you run out of hrs is just that…BS! What’s the difference if you run out of hrs on paper log or Eld’s? Your still in violation. Drivers want shippers & receivers to get us in & out quick. Seeing the govt can’t tell them how long it should take to unload or load us, this may be their way to get the shippers & receivers to get us out in a timely manner, not that shippers & receivers care, but when their freight isn’t there when they want it, they may change their attitude & get us out quicker. Again, Eld’s aren’t as bad as people think. I’ve been trucking 22 yrs & only trucked in the OTR sector, never done any other kind of trucking so I don’t know what Eld’s it will do in those area’s. Just my opinion
Dedicated helps, pure OTR means that something like 6 hours loading/unloading, moving a few miles, taking a 10 hours break to trigger a chain of undesirable events will happen frequently enough to cut into already subpar wages. I was on a dedicated ELD run for 6 years, my ELD had a “grace” radius of 1 miles below 15 mph a small thing like that made a difference between subpar and poverty wages. I can only imagine big bucks OTR guys with no mercy ELDs will make.
I’ve been OTR for over 30 yrs and just stared ELD it don’t see that ELD makes me any safer a driver. What I do get is same as I’ve heard about before getting ELD and that is company don’t care if you had sleep or not as long as you can show for 10 hr break they want you to run. Am talking about finish out a trip you have hours to run but the load they got pics up and delivers next day company say finish out a 10 and run the load. After sleeping already day/night most of us can not sleep all day and all night. So then you run futiged or get fired for not wanting to run and shit put on DAC report. So I don’t see ELD being the problem it’s the goverment telling me when I’m sleepy and when I’m not. HOS IS THE PROBLEM it does not matter how they twist them change them until they let the driver decide when to sleep we will still be forced to drive futigued because companies will always use the HOS and schedule loads as long as we can show the mandatory break required
Who are the stakeholders
I give the man credit for having the guts to admit he does not know everything on the subject- most people becoming head of a bureaucracy know everything about every item in which they are overseeing, are total experts, and even more totally infallible on any subject .
man admits he does not know everything on subject- problem is- what he does know is from the left wing idiots ruining- er- running NY and NJ. Perhaps someone should show him a line up and see if he can pick the semi out of the group of cars
Funny thing is that if they will find a way to enforce every letter of hours of service rules commerce will be halved (and already subpar driver wages will get even more ridiculously smaller). Some HOS rules are rigid and unrealistic the bosses and enforcercement agencies basically expect drivers disobeying those rules to make it all work. Drivers risking it all provide needed flexibility in this industry. So if you will get an ELD that kicks in as soon you move a truck – be the first to quit because the competition for fast food jobs will get intense. Not to worry though most trucking outfits cheat around that so you could move a truck slowly without triggering an ELD, but as always in the case of an accident a driver is a toast. If you think DOT does not know how trucking biz play with ELDs I have a bridge for you.
Well let’s hope he has common sense as then he will see that the failures of the past administrators ! Has been the one size fits all approach is wrong . Just the applications for exemptions from the ELD mandates rules should point that out !
The ELD mandate should be delayed ( but only Congress or President Trump can do it now ) and a study done on the inept Hours of Service and then change them ! Preferably back to the original Hours but keeping the reset ! As that is all that was wrong with them and they fairly well allowed for 98 percent of trucking to work within the rules . The only thing is the ATA carriers will fight that ! As they have never had it better the Government forces their employees to work or strave during the Hours ! And with ELDs they can push them !
The ELD rule was never about safety. Safety was just the mechanism in which it was sold to the American people.
We have out sourced a majority of manufacturing and other industry jobs to other countries so how do you out souce the jobs that cannot be moved outside our country? You under pay to a point that nobody in your country wants the job. Now you have an industry that is undermanned and is eligible for foreign visas and those workers are thrilled to come here first of all then they are happy with the pay they are gonna get because guess what they won’t pay taxes so they can make it work. There is also a job creation aspect to it that I’m not even gonna get into.
Ah, us truckers are gullible and lazy….keep the regs comin, we’ll just post comments and complain….but nothing more….ever.
I’m not so much against ELDs but more the mandatory 30 minute break and the screwed up rule for the 34 hour reset .
The 30 minute rule can cause real issues with ELDS because say it takes 8hr and 6 minutes to get to your delivery on time . By law anything under 7.5 minutes counts as previous 15 minute Mark but ELDs count every minute. So even though by law you didn’t violate the actual HOS by definition… The ELD shows it as a violation and a review can force you to be fined or shut down . Furthermore it doesn’t allow 15 minute breaks to count towards the 30 minute break . For example I tend to stop for 15 minutes every 3 to 4 hours which means I don’t sit for 8 hours straight except in totally necessary conditions. Another thing that needs to be fixed is the way the split sleeper birth works . Why if we sit for 3,4,5 hours or more at a customer or at a rest area or truck stop while waiting out RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC in major cities ( like Baltimore,DC Atlanta or almost any where North of Richmond on 95 to be fair ) doesn’t freeze our clocks for that period at least once during our 14 hour shift ? That would solve a number of problems . The problem in my experience isn’t ELDS since I have always used them and do fine . The problem isn’t the 10/11/14 Rule but all the strict regulations hindering safe use of these rules and equipment.
None of this electonic crap makes a driver a safer driver I’ve been driving OTR for over 30 years. You want safer drivers then let the driver decide when he/she is going to sleep as the driver is the only one that knows how tired and when he/she needs to go to sleep. And educate the cars/ pick ups and happy campers on the road ways. Tougher fines for their stupid illegal manouvers they do to cause such wrecks. You want to know how to make roads safer ask the truckers
Bs can’t be done .after your 34 restart after 7 days out.
You have 51/2 days to run 4200.eld is for sissy who don’t want to work.rather sit in truck stops and play with lot lizards.or be a cb rambo