While OOIDA continues its battle against Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) in court, even ELD makers themselves seem to be frantically scrambling to make sure their devices are ready in time for the big day. And even if they are ready, they expect drivers to have a tough time adapting. So much so in fact, that one ELD company is proposing a unorthodox way for carriers to push back their compliance date.
According to Omnitracs, an ELD provider, there are still “significant technical requirements” and “quite a few security items” that they’re still working on with the ELDs to make sure they meet the minimum requirements set forth by the FMCSA.
In a webinar this past week, Tom Cuthbertson, the vice president of regulatory compliance at Omnitracs, explained that the technology behind ELDs is incredibly complex and must have all sorts of features which are mandated by the government. According to Cuthbertson, the rules are fairly rigid and it can be difficult to meet the testing guidelines set in the 454 page document provided by the FMCSA.
Once installed, drivers will need to learn how to properly use their new ELDs, a process which Cuthbertson says will require training and time. Some drivers, about an estimated 20%, will be able to get the hang of it in just a few days, but Cuthbertson says “in my experience within 30 to 60 days everyone gets up to speed.”
With the mandatory compliance date set at December 18th 2017, and a possible two-month training period necessary for all but the most tech-savvy drivers, the window for compliance seems to be closing rapidly. Which may help explain why Cuthbertson is recommending a somewhat surprising solution: bend the rules.
Cuthbertson is recommending that fleets and O-Os push back their compliance date by getting an AOBRD (Automatic On-Board Recording Device) right now. How does this help?
“If you install an AOBRD prior to Dec. 18 of 2017 you come into the grandfather clause – you get an additional two years beyond initial compliance date,” Cuthbertson said during the webinar.
That would give Omnitracs and other ELD providers the time they need to make sure that their products can actually reliably do what the FMCSA claims that they must be able to do.
Source: fleetowner, omnitracs, omnitracs
Yep!!! The end is near for truckers. been on elds for years now. Went completely broke. Close to a $20,000 annual loss in income. It turns out that elds are a team work thing. Meaning if either person on either end of the elds aren’t any good at there job. Then no one will make a penny with it. When each person on either end of the elds are good at there job. Then everyone will make money. Truthfully about the elds miles. In a truck set to 66 mph with the horse power set at the top. 3637 miles every 7.5 days in a truck set at 64.9 mph. With the horse power set at the lowest setting 3420 miles every 8.5 days.1 mph makes a big difference. Setting the engines horse power too low. Is the difference in the time frame above.
TL;DR.
That’s just it, isn’t it? If drivers were paid properly to begin with, there would be no need of logs, paper or otherwise. There are only two reasons why drivers violate hours of service regulations. One, it’s the only way to make enough money when all of your unpaid time has been wasted. And two, the company is pushing you to do so.
If truck drivers were paid by the hour, like every other working person, neither driver nor company would be incentivized to push for more hours – the driver, because he’d be getting paid for all his work, and the company, in order to avoid paying overtime.
Why does nobody ever think of that?
The resulting annual wage would end up the same. With increasing costs of equipment and maintenance, not to mention increased down time for maintenance and repairs, companies cannot afford to pay more. The real culprit is what is being paid for shipping. That needs to be doubled at least.
I not a fan of mandatory use of ELD’s and I believe it should be a drivers choice as to which they want to use. As an O/O I got more done on paper logs than with using an ELD. How much I can do has been greatly effected by using an ELD as well as my bottom line. There is absolutely no proof that using an ELD makes you a safer driver as the FMCSA would have the public believe, only training and experience make safe drivers. 32 years of experience here with a 2 million safe driving award and still counting.
So is the Profile picture insinuating truck drivers are cry babies. If so that is pretty sad.
Are they going to put shippers and receivers on elogs too? I haul food. Staging and loading food takes time. With a paper log I can provide them the time they need to prepare and load their products properly. Elog doesnt care about customer service. I do.
Crank – the answer is yes – they have plans to put everybody who has anything to do with the supply chain on elogs – right down to farmers.
I’m curious how you “provide them the time they need” with a paper log, but not an e-log. I believe what you meant was that you can tear out a page, and change your start/arrival/departure times to buy time on your 14 HR.
I’ve been from paper, to electronic, back to paper, and back to electronic again in just the last 4 years, and I’d be lying if I said I never cheated a paper log. And most that fudge a paper log here and there can do it without being unsafe. But we all know that all it takes is one moron to push his/her limit, and suddenly we are all horrible drivers that lie on our logs and drive 24 hours while all cranked up on meth.
Now if we could get some regulations for detention times that benefit drivers–nobody would really even need to fudge a logbook…. (Psst, hey DOT….pay attention)
They never talk about the shippers and receivers! Everybody with a fk’n CDL knows about this! Dont know why that isn’t the topic of the day, everyday! Thats one of the main losses of time and revenue for a driver on a daily basis.
That is the truth. I spend anything up to 15 hours in a dock or being staged CONSTANTLY. Americold and Lineage should have their feet held to the fire. This is the problem not drivers at all.
I keep hearing government officials and trucking industry representatives argue over the ELDs but no one talks about the real problem and how they truncate driver wages, and increase shipping costs. ELDs are supposed to be about safety. True, we drivers have brought this issue on by ourselves. There was a time I ran with two log books, but for the most part that part of trucking history is past.
Drivers are paid by the mile. With paper logs, if I fudge the time by 10 minutes at the end of the day, who’s hurt? But you can’t do that with ELDs. If you end up 1 minute past 11 hours, you are worse than an axe murder, a killer of puppies or a devil worshiper.
So when a driver arrives in a city with 60 minutes on his clock and the next city is 58 miles away, he can’t take the chance of over driving his logs by a few minutes. We now worry about the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law.
So freight takes longer, drivers get fewer miles (and pay) and companies, government agencies and reluctant drivers all sit around and worship the ELD because it’s made us safer.
I’m glad I retired.
That’s why I’m glad I’m only 26,000 lbs. No ELDs.
Very well put, Max. Having to shut down 30 miles from home because you only have 15 minutes left on your 8-day clock is TOTAL BS! I don’t miss driving.
I run regional, and go home at the end of every shift. Been at this company for about 18 mos, and have always had the Qualcomm for dispatching, but are now implementing e-logs. Since I’ve had e-logs in the past, I was one of the first to get put onto electronic.
Our longest route is right around the 11-hour mark. With a lighter load, I can do it in just under 11–and by “just under” I mean like 10:57. With heavier loads, or a little bit of traffic, the most it’s taken me is 11:04. I certainly wasn’t going to just stop and take a 10 on the side of I-80, just 2-3 miles from the yard.
When discussing with admin about small violations like that, we were in agreement that it shouldn’t be a big deal because had it been a paper log, it’s not like I would’ve rounded up and said it took me 11:15. I would’ve rounded down to 11 even. I’d really like to know how DOT would look at that tho…
Laughable, buy our inferior product which may not be legal on time, but buy it now, now, now before someone shows you one that works as required.
They’re just trying to get you to have already bought their shit before they tell you they can’t do what is required on time– which by the way, ain’t that hard at all.
Nailed it.
Well,there is solution of that problem.On the 18th Dec 2017 they install the ELD’s and on 22th Dec 2017 all truck’s park on the hwy’s and thats it,…..Miracles do happened around Christmas
Great idea
They should have did that already, what are you waiting for? The government to tell you what kind of truck they want you to drive? Oh wait they already have, too late.
A 454-page document. That’s how complicated & screwed up the rules are…..
How long after manufactures develop an accident-proof truck are they going to keep pushing elogs?
It’s not about safety at all.
This is about the person who invested there money into this program Eld in the beginning there the ones getting richer off this and don’t care and probably wish and sit back and smile over all the confusion this is going to have on every one. Drivers need to do what we need to do have a shut down and make the country realize trucks run America not more instringent 454 page rules. When are the rules going to stop. Get off are backs all we want is to run the freight and go home. FMCSA is just another beurocrat that needs to be shut down they don’t even know what it’s like being on the road and out and away from there families on weeks on end just my observations. Driver since 1998. Drive safe.
I did drive using ELD and it took me about two days before I got the hang of it and spent many reset in truck stop parking lot since my home main office was in Canada and this year went back to work for a produce hauler across border and had to use paper log it was a small company and we all know the reason for using paper log I really had a hard time to go back to that paper log.
I prefer ELD. no stress about making mistakes.
Shippers and Receivers should be on ELD as well and pay the fine if there is to be issues.
The American trucker has been and continues to be demonized by the media and public officials. The answer is to organize but good luck with that. ELD’S can work if the hos are adjusted to be more flexible and there is a real increase in available parking. I don’t hate my little electronic passenger. But, it’s a machine. You can’t reason or negotiate with it. The hos must be adjusted.
ELD are not going to boost safety numbers. It will put o/o out of business because ELD do not take into account traffic, loading or unloading times, no safe parking available, etc. I just don’t get it. The Feds need to do better research.
We run Omnitracks XRS for daily ice deliveries. (100 air miles, Short Haul) Omnitracks is a massive, hack outfit with zero accountability. From not being able to Login the system some days (Great, do I run a paper log for the day, thus having 2 log books?) to not being able to adjust your time, for when the system dedcided to not actually take you Off Duty after you Logout, so now you’ve been On Duty for the last 44 hours.
And you better know how to get to the inspection section of the HOS, because Mr. Trooper really wants to see them before you can leave his nice inspection.
But as you’ve now been On Duty for the last 52 hours, you’re not going anywhere until there’s a good 90mins of phone tag between you, your DM, Omnitracks tech support and the Trooper.
Good luck drivers!
What is an AOBRD vs an ELD?
Modern days slavery ??? The Answer is “TRUCK DRIVER”. My last year. All rule makers must go on the road for just a month to see how hard is to do this job. We need more flexibility.
Omni’s suggestion to adopt now is nothing but a ploy to sell their system and accompanying monthly service fees sooner than latter. Why not get an additional 12 months of recurring monthly revenue? It is an interesting tactic as it amounts to saying, “what we will selling once the mandate is in place will suck, so you should purchase now that which we have which sucks less”.
It’s an attempt to put a rigid schedule on something that will never be rigid and is impossible to conform to a rigid schedule. Even with the best of planning, traffic delays and weather delays are always there. It will be impossible to shut down a few minutes short of good night parking just because the time ran out. And to ask a trucker to shut down for the weekend a few miles from home because he got stuck in traffic a bit too long and his time ran out is silly. I’ve had to adjust paper logs in minor ways many times just to adapt to the random delays, and a senior DOT inspector even told me once it’s OK, as long as it’s not excessive or to cover unsafe driving. If they go through with ELD’s they are just asking for trucking strikes and rising shipping costs, with virtually zero added safety. I almost expect to see drivers stopping in the middle of the freeway blocking traffic because their time ran out. Just to protest perhaps. I’d be sorely tempted to do that myself, especially with a few other drivers for company. However if I keep my company going I’ll likely start rebuilding old non computerized trucks just to avoid the ELD foolishness.
All i know that dec 17 2017 i will apply for edd…
You won’t be able to get away with the old school trucks they will just put a GPS in the trucks and track you that way that’s what I understand by checking into it with the company I work for
I have only been driving for eight months but I have seen and felt the problems that ELDs cause. Too much time to load, so you have to take your ten-hour break and start driving that night. After you get too tired to stay awake you look for a parking spot and there are none. DMs do push at the company I worked for, and driving all night sometimes was the only option to stay legal and get there on time.
It shouldn’t make a difference, E log or paper log. IF you run legal, and plan your trip a little better, you’ll be fine.
Stop whining about the money you might lose, and be grateful for the money God blessed you with. You’ll be much happier, when you see the glass is half full, not half empty. Be safe.
I am much happier making money.