A new bill introduced in the House of Representatives will force the DOT to study and issue a report on how many truckers have left the business as a result of the ELD mandate.
Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota introduced the legislation last week. It is an incredibly simple bill. If passed, it would give the DOT 180 days to “conduct a study to determine how many ‘employees’… who must comply with the electronic logging device requirements… have ceased being operators of a ‘commercial motor vehicle.’”
Once the study is complete, the findings would have to be reported to multiple committees in both the House and Senate.
“I introduced H.R. 6159 to require the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct a study about how many of our great truckers have quit their jobs due to the #ELD requirements,” wrote Cramer in a Facebook post. “The hard working men and women who drive trucks are the lifeblood of our economy. Let’s support our truckers, not burden them.”
While this bill doesn’t take any anti-eld action, other bills introduced by Cramer have. He also co-sponsored two bills which would exempt some small trucking companies and ag haulers from needing to comply with the ELD mandate.
I haven’t left but I damn sure ain’t involved like I was. Maybe 2-3 days a month Ill drive. Ive closed my company and only drive to help out friends.
I install custom built fences now
Lol going to start charter fishing myself letting my 2 guys pay for the trucks they’re in and letting them use authority for the rest of the year
Damn brother that’s sad to hear but truth be told eld devices are the nail in the coffin that will single hand bury the trucking industry. I work in the ltl side of trucking and these devices affect the job by logging in hours that doesn’t consider driving function. I believe eld should ONLY be used in the operating of the tractor and trailer or any other commercial vehicle. Not dock work, customers location, fueling or just sitting in vehicle. If not driving all other usage shouldnt COUNT.
Got any job openings? I quit driving as well
I quit because of it. I moved to Florida and bought a sailboat and drive a forklift at a marina 3 days a week. I gave up my CDL all together.
How’s that been working out for ya Bob? You about ready to retire from that forklift job? I already have the sailboat 😉
A ton especially the old school driver and I’m out the door myself. Your whole week solely depends on shipping and receiving getting you in and out. I usually miss 2 or 3 loads a week now and always tired. Just horrible
I want to drive truck but can some one tell me what is the ELD stand for
It stands for Electronic Log Device….which is used to calculate your driving hours electronically. I quit also due solely to it. It takes the 11 hours driving rule to a whole new level. You can unload your truck at 7am right after your 10hr break. It may take you 30mins. to unload but once your clock starts…..it can’t be stopped. By the time your dispatcher finds your next job…maybe at 3pm in the afternoon….you would have already lost 7.5 hrs of on duty time. That won’t allow you to complete your mission in a timely manner. I quit because my feet swell badly after 5 hours of driving. I need to rest for 4-5 hours to allow the swelling to go down, but if I do stop….my time will keep going electronically and cannot be adjusted to my resting time. I’m done with trucking after 44 years. There isn’t no computer that can tell you when you are able to drive….or when you should stop. Your body is your time clock.
Electronic logs
To make you work less and make less money
Not only does it do that it effects the time we can sleep
I drove for awhile but got out. I thought I’d enjoy the freedom of the road and would enjoy the travel. Unfortunately, this industry frequently places drivers at the bottom of the totem pole and that didn’t work for me. I drove for an owner operator who owned older trucks to stay away from ELDs. He said he would not ever drive with ELDs . . . he’s still driving his older trucks and driving locally, so no ELDs. We both agree that we don’t need a bureaucrat telling us when we have to pull over.
Personally, I’d recommending a skill such as electrician, plumber . . . whatever . . . just my opinion. I became a REALTOR and like it much better.
That said, if you decide to get into trucking, my very best wishes to you.
Just drive local.. wont go out of town..and run a time card.
Been class A driving, on/off, since late 70’s. More recently lasted 7 months solo OTR with a ELD until ENOUGH, couldn’t abide it anymore. Been hourly city ‘local’ tandem dump last three years gave that up due dislike of “new” equipment (auto’s standard?), poor pay coupled with excessive hours/days with no other viable “P/T”, life option(s) available. With “experience” being totally under-valued saw that “burn”(out) and “churn”(over) definitely continues to be standard-procedure!
Have since “retired” . . . As predatory as DOT has been wish all Good Luck!
I quit running over the road. Now running local with a Glider and running a time card.
Why a time card no elogs your truck is exempt you can run paper logs
The only drivers who are angry about ELD are the ones who ran hot on paper, Personally i enjoy a part of my life that cant be disputed by law enforcement and having extra time during my rest period because of less paperwork. This system is my governments way of handling a documintation problem, I think its working very well.
A damn troll for ata and the feds…good luck for a future in logistics. “MY GOVERNMENT,” right, what is going to happen when the real truckers finally stand up and say, “To hell with it all and quit?” Troll, you and your family will be on a real diet because there will not be any food and other products on the retailer’s shelves. Then I would love to hear from you!!
jamesdeanfisher/small fleet owner/journalist
A computer cannot tell your body when it should drive….or when it should rest. It has nothing to do with running hot. What are you going to do when electronics take over your position altogether? Tesla is already here! Heaven helps us, because we are not fighting for our positions.
and you must enjoy letting the government tell you when to pee?
Lmao. Right!
Actually, I pee whenever I need to. That’s what pee bottles are for!😎
you haven”t been driving very long have you, and you don’t owen your own trucking company.
No sir, you are incorrect. Drivers that know when to sleep and when and where to stop on their own, without Uncle Sam telling us….we also hate eld’s.
Your so full of crap. I run a dedicated route that’s very easy on my hours and it still sucks to be on ELD’s. You must need mommy to tell you when your tired little baby, but us grown men don’t like being told when to go to sleep.
Yea same here I’ve not quit YET ! ..but I have lost about $500 biweekly ..which is around $13000 yearly .as a company driver.that maybe nothing to the dam wigs behind the desk pushing all this crap and has NEVER BEEN IN A TRUCK MUST LESS DROVE ONE!!…and unlike most companies have done my company (Solomon corp) has not raised pay on mileage or stop pay either one …so I’m doin same job gone from home longer for LESS PAY !!
That my friend is EXACTLY what they set out to do !
If I wasn’t a team I would quit
You ,Mary, if you use your head can reap the biggest benefit from the ELD fiasco. It takes a little coordination, but think about this. Set your team on a schedule of 5 hours driving, 5 hrs. off, gives both drivers a break from the truck and exercise which you need to stay in shape, take that hour in rotation, to see to the truck, and see to personal health, in 10 hrs. of driving you can avg.1040 miles in most western states, and you will never have a 30 min. break or hours of service violation.
its done gotten madd cazy just trying to make a pickup lets not think about del it show dont roll up hill….cgs
I just Drive local now not Enough money to sit out on the road like that If I’m going to go Broke I’ll do it at home
Yes the eld had a small pro, but the cons outweigh them by miles, too restrictive, no flexibility in it, shippers and consignee care less that your clock is running down and you’re going to be stuck on their lot, I couldn’t take it anymore, went local
no directive from the government to hold the shippers,receivers or brokers accountable.
I got I’ll. was in hospital .DOT PUNISHED ME .I let my physical expire, theydown grated me to a class c.
Redo your physical and apply for a revue !
Now that I’m accustomed to actually taking a full 10 hour break at once, I’m okay with it. In fact it’s actually a blessing no more having to try to match my log up with fuel receipts or tolls, ect.
ELDs eliminated a lot of the cheating that was occurring with paper logs and the cheaters who were violating the law and endangering everyone else whine the loudest.
I still make money and have no complaints. If there were no rules to limit drivers, companies would have us driving 20 hours a day.
John, it is so clear you have not been in the trucking business. You have been an owner-operator position as a driver/owner-operator and if i were a betting man…never owned a truck. You know nothing about “cheating” as you so bluntly exclaimed, and know nothing about working the longhaul. You need to shut your face and get yourself a dock job so you can continue look at trucks and dream………………troll!!
good for you!!!! thease eld’s have made in unsafer on the road .
Well we do a lot of pipeline jobs that consist of stringing pipe down rides ways and this usually takes from 30mins to an hour a truck depending on how quick they are on the machine and a total of 10-20 trucks a day so we usually eat up all our time sitting on ride sways, so in our case ELDs is really hurting our cash flow. Needless to say when deliver to rigs!! And the amount of time we spend sitting in pipe yards
wait till u are pushed to use personal conveyance to pick or drop a load and set up for same. it’s happening and unless a complaint is made to osha..nothing is changing …the surface transportation act says that is driver harrassment…a lawsuit would than be available to any driver.
i love it when moderators say i am awaiting moderation. what i speak here is true. been there…done that. sad state of affairs. not flaming anyone here.
Still not clear onyou continue to use the word “cheating”…… exactly who is getting cheated?….. Better description would be “utilizing all options”. No one is being cheated!
John. 20 hours a day huh? So if we complain we were breaking the law before and now mad. ??
Buddy you have no darn clue. You get in a truck and run to California now. What use to take me 3 days max now takes 4 and then 3 and half maybe 4 back. As a driver I can’t afford to live hardly off those miles. It’s stupid. There’s some of us that run our logs right and just don’t like our hours being taken away!! Or getting a darn violation for the truck going 4 mph over the speed limit while going down hill. It’s not cause we want to be outlaw truckers. We just want to make a living like we were.
I’ve been driving 18 years with no accidents prior to ELD’s bud. These tighter regulations just limit your ability to become a successful company. Kind of like table limits on blackjack. Now you know why the house always wins. In this case it’s the mega carriers. But simple sheep like John, who will never accomplish anything in life wouldn’t care about things like that.
Do you run refrigerated?
They kept my so sleepy all the time with day runs one day and then night runs the next that I was diagnosed with sleep shift disorder.
So I went flatbed and solved that problem, but look at how many do drive reefer, and never get rested.
I wrote a letter to Senator Cramer asking to change an ELD regulation, allowing drivers to take short sleeper bunk breaks and make 14 hour rule extended by numbers of hours and minutes those breaks took. Otherwise we forced to drive sleepy to be legal within 14 hours.
They could also extend the 14 rule, because of customers holding us up & drop the 10hr back down to an 8 hr.
Because realistically nobody needs 10 hr. Twiddling our thumbs.
I agree with you We should be able too split up our 10 hr so were not up for 14 getting a 2 hour nap would be nice and off the other 8 later or in the sleeper
Regardless of what they say, ELD’S have not made the roads safer. All it does is make a driver constantly watch the clock ticking away being under the gun and doing stupid things behind the wheel
I agree
Well, what you’re saying is before ELDs you did as you pleased, now you have to watch what you do and follow the rules that have been in place for over 10 years. LOL
AMEN!!!! I AGREE TOTALLY 100%
Tony your right I can’t stand them they are a pain and before some ignorant person says something I did run legal w paper logs I just don’t need a baby sitter
You may not need a babysitter, but a lot of these outlaw punks do. They helped screw it up for everybody. I think the babysitter is here to stay.
No the outlaw punks were pretty much gone. The ATA said outright it was to ” level the playing field “.
How do you level the playing field against these mega carriers?some people only have 1 truck to maybe a few hundred trucks.so the play ing field is not level.
Leveling the playing field means tracking your every move, mining that data, selling same to 3pl’s and the like, and that data is sold to A.I
front runners to put truck drivers out of a job. ata and tlc and many hardware and firmware vendors are on the bandwagon. The effect of the one world/global economy is being played out. The eld is the perfect mechanism to put into the A.I (robot) brain to do our jobs .The nikola and tesla trucks will not long have humans at the controls, as the info to make them work stand alone come from transponders and gps trackers, cameras and sensors from ontrack/onguard braking systems and such, and if you use google maps and others on a cell phone, those movements are mine also.
The symposium in San Jose a little while back flatly state the goal to get rid of as much drivers as possible, as we are overhead. The fatal truck accident costs 11,000,000 on average from the jury, taken from insurance companies. Juries see drivers as dirt under their nails.
Man you all are young punks who need to put the years I did.over 27years. We had to use multiple logbooks because the company forced you to run.
At first I hated eld.but as I realized it helped me out..the ones complaining are the ones who are doing something they shouldn’t be doing
I have 42 yrs. truck driving. I have never ran two log books and never got a logbook violation. I admit for most of those years, I was in a position to make my own delivery dates and times due to multiple stops across country. But now, for the last 9 yrs. I was under a dispatcher or brokers gun to make my pickup and delivery times. I found that with this ELD…you can’t please the dispatcher, broker, customer and the DOT all at the same time. Speaking from experience only.
yeh…now my day is shortened because i have to stop to use the restroom and that is on the clock now…wow.
Agree
Big tech companies really love China as well
Outlaw punks is not the what you should say about drivers. Maybe if bonuses where actually reachable?! Besides that maybe we should go to company’s having to pay hourly instead of trying to screw over the little guy so the big fish can make it big.
Brian it wasn’t the outlaws that created mandatory elogs it was the big truck companies that us pushing it. I am a 25 year outlaw runner and have never bad a problem that elog would have solved. Im now exempt because of year of my truck. But if i am forced to run elog … early retirement here i come.
Why do you say people who may disagree with you ignorant? Just curious.
I’m not in favor of the ELD. It’s a way to track you RT. My main issue is the HOS. The HOS is causing the issue with parking and causing drivers to become solar powered.
I agree 100% as well. Especially on the east coast where I run it seems as those there has been an increase in truck accidents. Constantly having a clock in your face pushing you, along with the major lack of parking is causing drivers to run nights when they aren’t use to it.
Amen!! That’s a hard transition after 13 years of days … nights are difficult to get used to!
Tony, ELDs don’t make drivers do stupid things behind the wheel, that has been happening long before ELDs came out. You cannot blame that on ELDs. If anyone wants to blame ELDs for the way they have to drive, I will laugh in their face.
How long have you been a driver Derek?
Not long from the sound of it
I have been a driver for 35 yrs. and I agree with him completely. ELD has nothing to-do with the accidents, that is the gift of lack of experience !
Yes they do today I don’t understand how you can’t see people were already in a rush before welds existed so now instead of them trying to make on time delivery they are racing a clock welds are extremely dangerous
Why don’t you go do your dishes Helen.
Tony your nuts I live oh mi state line I travel 75 ,2 ,280 ,20, 475 , otpk the damm drivers now want to push you down the road I have had a couple of confrontations with these drivers their answer is I have a class to beat they don’t give a damn about anybody but themselves I think there is absolutely no validity and safety because of the eld’s all it’s done is make everybody try to hurry up and get there there’s no reason to tailgate or push someone down the road
You are so wrong since eld’s have come into play truck accident’s has went up. You must be new in this game.
the other day I went to unload first and then get loaded at the same company Kansas and it took them idiots about 10 hours to finish that after they finished me loading I only had 35 minutes left to drive and the truck stop 38 Miles Away.
They told me I cannot stay on their property and he was in middle of nowhere in the fields pretty much no shoulder on the roads or anything like that.
Now I can tell you that I will laugh in your face and that you have no clue about Trucking
Damn straight Derek. Too many drivers didn’t act professionally, and caused the ELD’s. I ran on paper, now ELD. Saw stupid both ways. ELD made my life easier, cause I was already running legal. If you were legal, what’s the deal?
Those damn elds just wear me out. Have never been so tired for so long in my life. I’m not built like some of you young bucks that need 10 hours of sleep every night.
yes..40 years here. noticed i am rushed by the schedule, looking over to the eld ,which counts down to the second. 9 hours 59 minutes 39 seconds, cant go….watch the hot shot drivers fly thru the truck stops, pulling over everywhere and anywhere to get in the 30 minute break,
nothing safe about and eld….this is micro management for the stock holders…equates to money in their pockets.
Derek, please be a little more observant….. you will see the rush and you will be able to see these things which make us run like hamsters in a cage, are not safe.
my boss tried to force me to use the Personal Conveyance for movement to pick ups and deliveries. He is now looking for
another good driver.
Good luck to him….
And why did you not call the hotline all of you have been told about, to convey that information to FMCSA ?
HaHa! You are right. I found myself trying to make it to any parking place…..even on the side of the road because no time to get to the next exit or already full rest area or truckstop.
Actually you can blame ELD’s. Laugh all you like. Even a blind person could see how much more everyone’s in a major rush now. That is not being safe. We’re about to be replaced anyway and the increase in accidents will only help justify the need for autonomous trucks.
Hudson…you got a good dentist? What desk job do you do and for whom? What ATA comany? Uh?
true that .
This is true. Rush rush and the gotta load at this dead line and unload at this deadline. Sorry my sanity is worth more than your Cents per mile. PAY TRUCKERS FAIR I’m looking for a reasonable hourly wage.
This would cover the traffic, load/unload waiting and pay for reset on the road.
How about ELD flexibility and commonsense
I’m done being screwed
I just got hired on with transport america last friday and quit monday because of the eld.I’m an old time hand who remembers when they were going to put the qualcomm in trucks and all the companys said oh no we wont let the gov’t or anybody else into them.More lies from trucking companies and our gov’t. MikeDiMatteo
Yep! If anything, the new HOS rules have made the roads more dangerous, FORCING drivers to drive Fatigued, drive during high volume traffic times, and drive when road conditions are less than acceptable all because their fighting a time clock to make delivery schedules and to make a decent living for their families. If our legislators REALLY want to help drivers, then the best thing they can do is get rid of the 14 hour rule altogether and to bring back the split sleeper berth for teams.
ELDs have no influence on split sleeper, scheduling for teams, company dispatch is what makes that ineffective in most cases !
Was. Agree completely.
I meant Wes.. darn auto correct
Watching the clock? That may just be distracted driving. I don’t know but you should probably check with the DOT.
I agree completely..!!! No safety in Elogs…! None… Also look at the truck accidents, 97% Elog Trucks! It’s just another money scam put on truckers and forced good safe drivers to quit..! If I wouldn’t of found the 1998 truck I drive, I was gonna quit too and go local.
All my drivers quit. Can’t make money driving from parking spot to parking spot. Only thing regulated in this industry is the drivers. Not shippers receivers lumpers or brokers. Basically killed my baby company. I am now half a million in debt for equipment not using, and if hire people, they make more at McDonald’s.
I have filed bankruptcy because all my drivers, all 9, quit in next10 days… .
What BS
How many trucks do you have sitting?
I could help you put them to work and make you money.
Or i could lease them from you and help you salvage your credit.
be generous to a trucker and buy them out right.
he can then retire away from this nonsense.
drivers live in this is their house and home. we would not allow this invasion on our houses on solid ground.
Your drivers couldnt make any money driving 55 hours a week ? So what were you paying them? Maverick and others have had drivers working that way for a few years. They pay a decent mileage and stop pay as does Averitt and many others. A Mcdonalds worker grosses 520 a week if they were starting at $8.00 an hour. A student driver from Superservice should get 800 a week after training, that would be 850 a week if he can run 2500 miles. Sounds like you were getting shafted b y the shippers or didnt want to pay your drivers.
Little problem with your math my friend 8 dollars gets 320.$ not 520.$
That’s your own problem. Plenty of money to go around with the rates as they are now.
Amen to that
what,,, all your drivers quit??? somehow if you actually had a company i don,t think ELD,s had anything to do with all your employees quiting
What yeah you can have an opinion all u want but you need to stop discrediting the facts
My issue is when I run out of hours at 3 in the afternoon forced to start sleeping at 3 even though I just sent the shipper for 6 hours waiting to get loaded that I’m basically forced to start driving at 1 in the morning I’m out of hours by noon again and the cycle continues I’d rather sleep from 9 till 7 the morning. No One needs to drive more than 11 hours a day just get rid of that damn 14-hour clock
yep. again, no directive from the government to stop these practices,
it’s all about taking the eld,cam,braking data and making the truck an
a.i. robot.
You need to get a job at Walmart or McDonalds so you can be home every night.
The eld is great for doing the logging for us, but I hate trying to find the appropriate time slot to take my 30 min. break. I don’t run illeagal hours lengthwise but I frequently have to get my “safety man” to manipulate the eld to move on duty time to sleeper berth.
I will just continue to drive my OBD1 1995 truck. Inframed the engine in Nov instead of buying newer truck. Only way to keep on truckin’.
Personally I know of 12 guys that quit driving completely three companies included in that I agree with some of the other post ELD was a crock of s*** did not make the roads any safer you’re going to have drivers watching that clock rushing and doing stupid s*** they never would have done before so they don’t get a ticket or lose their job that way I think you should scrap the whole goddamn ELD thing right in the trash can this is the Bandit Bandit Trucking West Bath Maine
I’m glad I don’t drive any more drove a little over 30 years and 5 million miles had a few fender benders but never hurt anyone they came out with elds I quit them things ain’t gonna save anyone’s life if a driver doesn’t have sense enough to pull over when he gets tired then he’s not gonna last long anyway
y ‘all need to go on and tell the truth about the situation. truck drivers are leaving the business because commercial trucking companies are making it impossible to make a decent living as far as pay. They also get away with forcing drivers to break the law, drive fatigued and ill, and ignoring drivers’ needs for time off, etc. Companies are also forcing other constraints on drivers to get around the 34-hr restart. The ELDs are the only mechanism in place to help keep the highways safer and keep drivers alive. So, with that, I feel that drivers who complain about safety rules may have ulterior motives for their complaints. I’m a driver and I appreciate having the law on my side to keep the big company from running me to death, literally.
i know a guy at rntc ent. who will start u old school guys at 54 a mile, volvo and new trailer. then u can run the eld dead every day and he and his brokers will play cat and mouse to force u into a personal conveyance to do business..
I’m tired of big brother looking over my shoulder dictating everything I do. Enough pressure out there in a normal driving day withou the added stress of ELD flashing you all day
It’s made it very hard to earn a living, my wages are down at least 200a week
I STAND TO BE DOWN AT LEAST $70K BY THE END OF THE YEAR. BROKERS AND SHIPPERS AND RECEIVERS STILL ACT THE SAME. BROKERS KEEP MOST OF THE MONEY, AND THE SHIPPERS AND THE RECEIVERS DON’T GIVE A DAM, ITS HURRY UP AND WAIT!
True statement I can make more loading a truck than driving one
I agree it’s not just drivers,shippers and receivers need to be regulated as well
You have hit the real problem right in the face ! This new freight forwarder /broker rule dept. of transportation came out with, that charges a fee from any one who wants to get into the shipping business, and then can install themselves into the load cycle and cut out their own profit margin, this is the biggest misappropriation of Authority by any government office since prohibition !
It’s not the ELDs, it’s the rules the ELDs now force us to comply with. No flexibility. Not enough parking when we legally need it. The ELDs took away the ability to work around the true problems in trucking.
Amen brother…. I agree 100 percent..
Lisa you make a great point, our government agencies and our government are quick to push regulations without true research or all information needed to make a logistical decision. The eld’s regulation continue to grow and yet the states and municipalities continue to close down available safe parking spaces for the men and women that moves our freight. As unsafe as it may be to park on exit or entrance ramps, these government agencies are forcing more drivers to do so
And then when your forced over on the side of the road and you get hit, the police consider that you are at fault.
not too mention the local cops given out parking tickets for sleeping on the ramp and like you said some dummy playing with there smart phone and not watching the road
Georgia is a case in point, they have made it illegal to park on ramps, followed up by major truckstop chains now charging drivers to park. Shippers take ridiculous amounts of time to load, and don’t care if you run out of hours while you’re being loaded, but you cannot stay on their property, “GET OUT, we don’t care”.
Yes this is 100% true!!! They don’t care.
Go in the bunk on your 10 hour break at their dock. Who can make you come out?
the newest dot personal conveyance ruling allows you to go off site to a safe haven to park, provided you do your 10 at that point.
think you are partially right about eld,s but truck drivers cause their own problems as far as parking no one wants the filthy mess left behind where they park
Exactly! 2 days ago I took U.S. 1 outta the Baltimore area so I could skirt the Del-Water Gap toll… had 1.25 hrs left in my 14. Wouldn’t ya know I ended up driving about 45 minutes over (in direct violation) to find a suitable spot on the shoulder of the I-195 just inside NJ outta Philly!!! U.S.1 is a great little hiway, but NO rest areas and NO shoulders (even on the ramps)!! I’m a sad puppy now. All I was able to say in the annotation was that I was searching for a safe haven to get this bad boy parked. Thanks alot.
When you run with ELD, you need to also run with dash cams to show proof of the issues. In court that makes a very fine proof of the situation !!
that is legal to do now…On personal conveyance..loaded or not..or bobtail. Glad u made it.
Well said!!
That and 65mph kills you’re clock
👍
Yes, rules already in place are the real issue here, not ELDs.
Now this is the first statement that makes sense. I quit the over the road because of ELD’s doing nothing but local now. Near my workplace is a Pilot truck stop and it gives me a small idea of what everyone has to contend with. In my short haul runs, every overpass is full of driver’s trying to get that break in, as well as the rest area. Then by early morning, the roads are again full of trucks. Traffic builds quickly from that point on.
Very well said.
It’s not just that parking is hard to find now. It’s also that alot of the state’s are closing down rest areas as well. Also we’re not allowed to take are 10hr rest at alot of shippers/receivers. When are they going to cut use a break?
The fact the they have to do a study on how many will leave the Industry as a result speaks volumes to how much power truck drivers actually wield!! USE IT!!!!!
It would require us sticking together. Hasn’t happened once in my entire 24 year career. I don’t expect it to.
Don’t hold your breath
or the other end waiting, either.
HAPPEND IN THE 70’S
Isn’t that the truth. And now you have the new generation, that wouldn’t know a set of Ball’s if it slapped them in the face!
Last time truckers stuck together and forced issues, truckers were screwed bad by deregulation. I still don’t make the money, I did before deregulation.
Deregulation did wound the trucking business. Now, this ELD will finish us off.
i was involved in transportation since the 60s,, and was hearing about this new generation nonsense before you started
34 years and still waiting for that across the board truckers strike
Shure not like the 70s no trucks would have an impact! It worked in other countries
16 yrs ago, when I first drove, truckers helped truckers, if one was on the side of the road 2 or 3 would stop to help, now is all about (me )stage with the newbees, they don’t care about the trucker’s bond I grew up with, it’s a shame, now i can’t drive due to my back, God I miss it, but I don’t, becareful and God bless all of you.
I’ve been driving since 1995, I started out with one of the largest furniture companies in the United States as an owner/operator and there was no GPS then the only thing we had was the road atlas and CB radios. You talk about helping each other out, but whenever I would get stuck and need help with directions or anything else such as breakdowns, etc. as soon as other truckers would hear my accent on the radio I would get NO response, so for some truckers maybe they stuck together but as for myself and had no one but myself to rely on.
But I wish you all good luck in whatever career you choose. I know what you all are going through because when I am 50 miles away from home I have to stop to take my 10 or I will hear it from the safety department the next morning. And I have a special needs 5-year-old daughter at home who depends on me to be there for her. It breaks my heart when I promise her that daddy will be home at a certain time and she waits up for me then I can’t make it because of the regulations and she tells me when I get home daddy you broke my heart because you wanted to go to work and not be with me.
Truck drivers haven’t stuck together since the 70’s… the last time truckers striked and got across the board raise for All Drivers…!!! Now all they do is…Play with their phones.!!!. No brother hood, no helping each other or a broke down motorist. No respect..!!! Just hurry up!! Race Time..!
I personally know 8 drivers that have left the trucking industry in the last year.
LEFT
None
Do you think you’ll get an honest answer from THEM
They don’t HAVE to do the study – it’s one man’s suggestion and more than likely they will NOT do the study
I’m leaving the biz this August.
They lowered the standards too low for hiring drivers. Many of the new drivers out here today have absolutely no business driving tractor trailers. Most of the trainers are still rookies themselves. Lots of the new drivers have no road manners at all. They don’t know how to merge or even park. And I’m not talkin about backin in. I’m talkin about where they park to do a 30.
I’ve never seen it this bad in 42 years.
I’ve been on the ELD now 6 years. It’s easy to use. You can’t run hard anymore though. The days of takin brakes and sittin down and eatin and chewin a rag with friends in a Truck Stop are over too. Now your always in a hurry. No time to waist. And you have to “cheat some” if you want to make the day, everybody does it. If they say they don’t thats pure BS.
You can’t get the miles now we used to get with the ELD either.
The friendliness is gone too. Most rookies and even some oldtimers sit at the counter with the phone instead of talkin amongst each other like we used to do.
Besides that its great!
Yeah I am about to leave the trucking industry my self
I only have 6 years left to drive, and I have a bad taste about the trucking industry.
I only have myself to blame!!!!
They should also do one one how low pay affects the number of drivers. My husband has to use his vacation days for holidays or work them. Not celebrating the 4th, because he will be working. Great way for kids to grow up.
There’s not a “Driver shortage”, there’s a “Pay shortage”. Half the trucks on the road are empty because rates in certain areas are too low. Why should I pull a load for $1.00 mile when I can deadhead half way and pickup a load for $3.00 a mile and get paid the same or more?
I amen!
It is not the elds that are hurting drivers but carrier dispatchers/planners they do and do not know about time to load unload traffic construction back roads they send us on truck to save money on tolls but get stuck in area of traffic lights in that area pushing pick up and drop times you know 75 percent of time load is already late now who’ fault is it really speed demons truckers parking late at night blocking out next guy,rookies people can’t read signs not courteous I love driving even with all mandates third generation driver and was told it was never and will never be easy we are special in our trade about money,equipment another story thanks fellow drivers let’s be safe
RUN BY THE BOOK AND DARE THEM TO TRY AND MESS WITH YOU !
Well said
that’s not really true blaming dispatchers and planners.. I’ve been in trucking for 28 years and have been behind the wheel and in dispatch…. the real problem is shippers and receivers. the companies provide a service and we do our best to take care of customers . it’s easier to blame or companies because as a driver, that’s who we deal with. the dispatchers/ planners are a go between of the drivers and customers.
The roads have gotten more dangerous than ever before, because of the ELD regulations people are driving longer under the wheel more than EVER at times they usually be taking a nap it’s definitely a added distraction along with the phones ect… and yes a WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE QUIT AND PLAN ON CHANGING Careers because of the ELD. And yes the ‘ELD’s are working” (fmcs) but only to make you guys inspections A WHOLE LOT easier.!😔🤔
It’s not so much the eld it’s the way the hours are made up. The 14 hour clock is stupid. Since that law came in wrecks have increased considerably. When we was running paper before the 14 roads was 10 times safer. But I guess that’s what happens when we have a bunch of people running trucks that has no idea on how to drive them and most probably never has been in one. Knock the hour crap out and let us do our job safely.
ELD’s are only putting more stress on drivers. Like this isn’t a stressful job to begin with. Nobody respects truck drivers anymore and you must be a defensive driver continuously! Can’t wait until I am able to retire and get away from this hassle.
How does the phrase go a lock keeps honest people honest well eld’s do the same we’ve always cheated our paper logs and now we’re being forced of hold up to 14 hour rule and don’t like it suck it up buttercup
In Brazil the drivers basically went on strike and refuse to haul freight and brought Brazil to knees. Which force the government reevaluate the decisions that they made. Which required the President to rescind the decision. If the trucking companies and truck drivers banned together and take a stand, by refusing to transport freight the goverment would have NO CHOICE but to reverse this ELD NIGHTMARE. With NO truck delivers AMERICAN would SHUT DOWN. First, the grocery stores would run out of food, second all the gasoline would sell out and then straight PANAMONA. Complete CHOAS would ensue, cause a state of emergency across the entire United States of America. People would be robbing, killing and totally destroying this country. All BECAUSE, trucking companies and truck driver refuse to haul freight. These actions would topple the country. The problem is that people who have ABSOLUTELY no idea of what it takes to operate a truck are making the decisions concerning driving a truck. I bet you they NEVER conferred with any drivers concerning the possible ramifications of the implementation of the horrific decision. It was already hard making a decent living driving trucks, but now it is virtual impossible. They’ve allowed a computer application to tell you when you can and Can’t operate your vehicle. Not, taking into account that people can not be treated like machines, turned on and off by the turning od a switch. There are plenty of deaths on the horizon. Because, of the ELD’s. Mother’s against drunk driver’s and all you other lobbying groups find something else to do. And, you politicians get some backbone and stop worrying about the next election. This decision to implement the TRASH was politically motivated. This country is going to HELL IN A HAND BASKET. I’m selling my truck in a few months. To he’ll with trucking, which use to be the love of my life.
I wish people would stop lying. The only reason your pay is down is because you were cheating on your paper logs. The new advisory on off duty driving removes all your objections to finding places to park. If you can’t follow the law we don’t want you driving.
You’re obviously a never been.The big.deal for me is taking a mandatory break when I don’t need it and not taking it when I do.Also it’s not possible to get a true 11 hour driving shift.And don’t even go a second over or you’re in violation.Try That in real life at places you don’t know and don’t control. I don’t mind doing the actual logging process.That’s the least of it.
You are VERY WRONG. A 42 year OTR experience speaking here. Over 4 million miles safe driving.
How is he wrong, freight rates are up, therefore, if drivers were following the HOS rules before ELDs then profits should be up.
I am a 44 year veteran and I agree. Just mad because they cant cheat anymore
It’s not cheating, it’s called trying to make a living and be profitable. If you ever own your own trucks you’d understand. Drivers would be much safer if they sleep when sleepy and drive when awake instead of worrying about how many hours or minutes they have left.
Maybe you can answer this question
The 11/14 clock has been in affect for over 10 years, ELDs haven’t changed the HOS, therefore, why would you have to look at how many hours or minutes you have left on the 11/14?
Also, wouldn’t you be doing the same thing with paper logs, since the 11/14 would end at the same time as an ELD.
Amen on that. I see drivers at the truck stops now sitting up looking at lap tops because they’re not sleepy. Then by the time they are sleepy they only get a few hrs of sleep then they have to start rolling. I came from a long line of drivers in my family, I’ve got 12 years experience and have never been in involved in an accident. I’ve driven 16 to 20 hrs then went to sleep. I’ve gotten up after 10 hrs drove 4 or 5 hrs and laid down for a nap. Under this ELD you can’t listen to your body, you have to listen to a computer.
You assume every driver is responsible enough to sleep when they are tired. Has to be a line somewhere. Can’t assign an individual speed limit to every driver based on their ability. Same thing with ELDs. Some things you have to adapt to.
the computer and eld is soul- less. the truck is our home and
a lot of drivers realize it is time to get out, as this is the final
straw in our fight against our privacy rights.. don’t say we don’t have them….a four wheeler can drive anywhere, any time of day or night,
after any amount of time at work, shopping,etc…free gratis. with a pass
and yet truckers are criminals. I know when i’m tired and take a nap…
you know, a siesta…probably a word too over the border for many…
and you want the government to tell you when to take a pee.
You are so right jay. Remember when we had old hos refs and could really truly split log!?
Justify however you want, but cheating is cheating. I own my own trucks too and yes at times I cheated but I am not saying it is right!
Agree, Jay. Instead of focusing on the safe driving DOT made us focus on the Hours and Minutes left. With their corporate mind and total misinformation (they consult with doctors -students sleeping studies, with office bureaucrats of all levels, with shareholders and investors, with attorneys, with everybody but TRUCK DRIVERS) they created the whole artificial, synthetic, surrogate, generic and fantasy world of HOS, which exist as a parallel to the real world and has nothing to do with reality. With all their power they force us to live in that fantasy HOS world. Sometimes I think I live in one of Tarantino or Hitchcock movies created by their surreal imagination. The Transportation Timing already dictated by Manufacturers, Consumers, Suppliers, Brokers, Skilled Dispatchers, Field Managers, Responsible Owners and Drivers. By all of those who familiar with trucking. We do not need another Artificial Timing of Service. This is not a service. This is a tough job. Trough the rain, snow, wind, traffic, delays, mechanical breakdowns.
The creation of the artificial HOS which rather destruct driver from the safely operation, is a crime against the whole industry.
At the same time, I have to admit that in my 17 years I suffered from unruly dispatchers who pushed me to drive when I am tired. The options were to drink more coffee and to obey or to dispute and get fired. I DO NEED PROTECTIVE REGULATIONS. But existing 70-14-10 HOS is a mess magnifying by ELDs.
39 years accident free and he’s right you were cheating before is why you made more money
That’s why I need my log book. To cheat so I can make truck payments and high fuel taxes and what else was it… oh yea PROFIT!
the flsa from 1938 is what the real cheating is all about.
It’s not cheating so bad. It’s the fact that I can’t stop ,take a 3 hour nap while rush hour,s going. Now we’re always pressured watching the clock tick down. Gotta drive downtown Chicago at 4pm cz the eld.says keep going.you only have 1hour left!! It’s a bunch of gov
Regulated B.S.. and you all know it .the saddest part is 2 of us can’t stick together on anything to get this law relaxed .that’s the problem.be safe.
you put HOS regulations on drivers because we are dangerous and kill people by mistakes. But Police, Judges, Soldiers, Politicians, Doctors, Nurses, Roofers, Constructors, Engineer, Programmers, Kooks, Whoever else and CARS – kill people by mistake on the regular base. why don’t put HOS regulations on them?
Any constitutional attorney will prove that HOS on truckers is unconstitutional and illegal.
Woah there buddy I’m a trucker to but that’s the last thing we need is a clock in the 4 wheeler telling us when to drive it’s already a mad house in city traffic it would be a grade a cluster $&@? If we have all the useless 4 wheelers punches an eld plus we all drive cars accationally you really want the problem everywhere you go I’m with you though less are a lot of spit and something needs to be done at least about the countdown on them currently running out a time 2 hrs from the terminal cause the damn shipper spent 4 hrs staring at my truck before loading me.
Of course people break the rules when it’s that or sit because your company doesn’t have huge accounts all over the country to keep drivers moving. The lobbying behind this bill was paid for by the megas to force the small guys out of business so they can absorb their customers.
Not cheating, find better company or better freight. You haul cheap freight, get paid cheap. There is good paying loads out there, but not hauling food and toilet paper.
You would think the most essential things would pay well. This is like teachers making no pay and entertainers making all the bank.
If law is like God’s word then why are new laws brought in or old ones changed? So how do you know which law is correct. Did you conduct a survey yourself to find out if it was unsafe before ELDs?
Before eld’s it was difficult to find safe parking. If you had not found a place to park by 6: 00 pm, we were pretty much S.O.L!
To worry about being about being shut down in the middle of NO WHERE is more stress than most drivers need to deal with!.
Shippers AND receivers need to have consequences when NOT unloading/unloading trucks within 2 hrs of scheduled time!
I QUIT! BLEEDING ULCERS is NOT FUN!
Your absolutely right man . As a matter of fact you know what ? Every truck driver in America should take a 4 day weekend just before a major holiday weekend … You know since you don’t want people doing what they have to to SAFELY earn a honest days wage .
But hey you’ll be alright with that …. wouldn’t be any inconvenience come 4th of July or memorial day weekend .
Yeah but the little company trolls won’t do that, they gotta make their 300.00 for the week
Must be a dispatcher
We? You have a mouse in your pocket or what?
Who exactly is “we”? You talk like you speak for somebody who thinks they’re important. I’m guessing you’re an eld company troll. And you know where trolls live.
🤣
There’s a troll made outa concrete under a bridge in Seattle
Snowflake
Spoken like a true steering wheel holder who doesn’t have a clue. Probably drives local.
You’re dead wrong! Some truckers did cheat on paper logs, but that’s not the reason for pay decreasing. When you get to a shipper and sit for 6 hours getting loaded, those are 6 hours lost and it doesn’t matter to that stupid ass eld whether you’ve been asleep or not. Those are scenario’s that need to be addressed. How can any driver not lose money? That’s the problem, driver’s arguing with each other instead of sticking together!
I would like to say the only reason why I have cheated was because of shippers and customers it’s hard to make any money when they have a 4 hour window to load and unload you it’s bad when you spend 8 to 10 hours on one load just to get loaded and unloaded do that 3 times a week and see how much money you make
Samuel Gallezzo…..You sir are evidently a new driver that never did paper logs. Remember , We had 1/4 to work with with a built in 7 min to be able to back up to nearest 1/4 hr. We also could stop our trucks for as long as we wanted for any reason and no penalty. You have never worked under the old regs like us old timers did. When some so called truck driver brings up the Cheater word I know they are so uninformed and are repeating something uncle john said or heard it at the counter of knowledge in some truck stop that was for the most part hog wash. We could log on paper logs which is something the new steering wheel holders are unable to do, We did our own math and managed quite well using a road atlas to go across country too.Imagine that.We did not drive on the board walk or mountain tops with total dependence on electronics instead of our brain . The new breed of driver is unable to think for themselves, the ELD is proof of that.So we all get punished with the ELD. The old timers do not need the ELD nor the new HOS to get the job done safely. if the current HOS is so good why are there so many exemptions?.
No sir that is not why ELDs have come. This isn’t about safety it is about control. First the trucks then the cars….
100% correct
Elds are not the problem. If your not cheating on paper then you’ll do fine on elds. I’ve done paper logs and it left me open to abuse by the company. They would expect you to run 15 hours a day. If you got caught by dot they would take 500 dollars from your check.
Thanks ATA/FED suck-up..TRY getting a real job, like YOUR ATA bosses. They won’t even bend over for Ya!
I wonder who died and left you in charge ???
Best way to know if a law is
Flawed…..strictly enforce it!
I haven’t quit. But did trade my 2001 international for a 1998 freightliner. I’ve been driving for over 20 years. I don’t need a damn box to tell me when I can and can’t drive, to tell me when I need to sleep. The elds have not made anything safer. Drivers are speeding through construction zones, speeding through parking lots constantly watching the clock.
I have been driving for 23 yrs …i uave no feeling about the eld…i still make money….all those whining and crying about the eld are the ones pissed cause they cant fudge or oit right lie on paper logs
Let’s be real for a sec guys. It’s just human nature not to be alone for long periods of time. It’s difficult for a person to spend 24 hours in a box on wheels for weeks a time. Until more home time options and the pay is raised, especially the PAY nothing will change. Not to mention these companies that treat driver’s like trash. Who really wants to miss their families bdays, holidays, graduation, and struggle financially. Trucking had a shortage problem long before elogs.
If you can’t tell the truth then don’t talk. The ELDs have messed up the trucking industry all around the board, from Truck Parking all the way to the Drivers Pay. Longer wait times in the Truckstop all the way to the Pay. How can a driver get the rest he needs when he’s forced to park in unsafe places due to he has run out of time? This just shows you what happens when people who have never drove a truck tried to make the rules and laws, it causes complete and total chaos.
ELDs are a sort of sanitizer. Slowly cleaning out the two bit outlaws, especially the ones who like to treat drivers like slaves. Slowly forcing these shippers and receivers to get efficient, or pay up. Or find somebody else to haul their lousy freight. Making brokers work harder for their excessive cut.
I don’t like being on a leash, but their is a silver lining to this cloud. The show is just starting, and it’s getting more interesting. The two bit hustlers are pulling their hair out trying to get around ELDs. And I’m liking it.
So all the guys whining about it, go ahead and leave. Makes me more valuable. More for me.
You are wrong shippers and receivers are still the same and will always be the same until they are regulated.
Agreed
Two bit outlaws you must be a real Truck Driver Company Boy
He saw it in a movie
Convoy…damn still funny to watch
maybe Trucking companies should learn to charge for detention, stop trying to blame it on shippers and receivers.
Yes lee your right because THEY DON’T CARE
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT! THEY WONT DO BETTER UNTIL THEY ARE REGULATED TO.
Work for a good company that actually charges (and collects) detention.
Desperation isn’t a good look, you guys.
Until the next step which is the Mexico receprocity.Then the gains will revert to loses again.
Spoken like a real parking spot jumper Brian. You wouldn’t be “More Valuable” if every trucker out here quit. I sure you go from one meal to another and want your company to pay you more to do it but some of us real work for a living or at least try.
Sounds like more whining. Probably one of those outlaws who can’t play so many games now. Like a kid having a toy taken away. Adapt, or get out. I’ve been watching guys like you come and go for 24 years.
Brian, all drivers are different. You may be more easily adapted to changes, some (with diabetes for example) less able to change, even they are a good drivers. My point is: HOS ( forget ELD) on truck drivers are unconstitutional. Bill of Lading has a starting and destination points.
truck has a hub odometr. I checked my weight. and it’s legal. then I get stopped on 14 more scales ….(?!)
My truck passed annual inspection. then I get ambushed and stopped on the rest area for the road inspection…(?!)
do you understand that all those stops are the little arrests?
are they have a warrant to arrest me?
All jobs have an ill professional people. where is their HOS?
It is non constitutional and illegal regulations on truck drivers.
those demagoguery mantras: “cheaters”, “safety matters” in the HOS context should be stopped.
I don’t like video games
Are you for real?
Get your head out of your butt
been hearing this same whining since the 60s,,from drivers who are not able to make use of their own time , same excuses no money not enough hours, bad dispatch,, bad companies, slow trucks, whatever the new generation happens to be that year,, and whatever excuse of the week might be,, never their own fault just constant whining,
ELD made roads more dangerous as loss of time in traffic pickup delivery cross border and fueling take much of the time away, driver remains panicked is not saftey worthy.
So Balbir, your saying, that ELDs have made drivers account for their cheating, since all the things you mentioned should have been logged on paper, but weren’t? LOL
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT SAFER AT ALL
BS. If you’re an unsafe driver with ELDs, you were an unsafe driver before them. One has nothing to do with the other. Blaming ELDs is a copout. A true pro drives the right way no matter what.
I’ve ran eld and paper logs despite I only have 3yrs OTR, in I’ve jumped around with company’s, anyways the point is with ELDs you are always stressing about can I park here or there and most of your day is consumed thinking about parking and shippers and receivers holding you up. Which in turn forces you to rush and speed to park. While on Paper you know you can fidget your time if needed to park taking out that stress. So you don’t rush your driving making it unsafe for you and others becuase you know you have a few more miles before your clock is out unless you can get to a safe legal place to park.
All I hear is crying if you always ran legal you make the same now as before.cheaters are finally being caught and made to follow the law. If you aren’t making money or you’re making less money you need to find a new company to work for
Go crawl back under your rock
I agree with Buck on this, If you do not like what you are doing, find a new sand box. The law is in force and all of this whining is not going to change any thing.
AGREED
Cry Baby
Buck YOU NEED TO STAY IN SOME KIND OF DRIVING SCHOOL SO AS NOT TO HURT YOURSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE
“Running Legal” Is that the rules set by some politicin that works less than 20 hours a week with full pay, by hard working Americans? I remember 10 hr driving 8 off. No 14 hr rule. 48 hr restart. Why did that change? It was Federal/state revenue. It didn’t start with the ELD’s. It started long ago. And unfortunately, this isn’t the end. Trucking has become the target for Federal and state revenues. Big money!!! Anyone remember what they told us about the the Federal tax mandate on Fuel back in the 90’s? To reduce the deficit. Not one dime went for that. It went into a slush fund to pay retired politican’s for life. How many companies went out of business then? ( My father and I being one of them). Did anyone do a study then. Yes they did and all it proved was Federal and state revenues went up because we had to run harder to survive. Just reviewing one issue is not going to fix the problem. A study of the entire industry as a whole, and a realistic solution, not more regulaion’s, is the only true way to fix anything.
Actually that’s not true. I ran clean paper logs no cheating, and I make less now than I did then. Been out here 12 years and have notice no change in wasted time at shippers and receivers. My $ per mile has gone up but with wasted time take home has gone down. Another thing I’ve notice is, the scales that are closed don’t allow us to park and they should. Rest areas that are closed should still allow parking whether the bathrooms work or not. The only thing elds have done is save a few trees from becoming paper logs. They’ve made one aspect of this industry easier but are hurting us in the long run. All you so called drivers thinking the elds are the saving grace don’t know much about trucking. I can take a paper log and beat your eld every time and never cheat. Think about this every time you do that mandatory 30 you lose a minute cause you have to sit to the 31or you’re in violation. On paper it’s a 30 and not cheating. Have a nice day.
Running legal doesn’t always make it safe!
Has anyone seen or know where some one can see a study for 2016/17 that show accidents involving big trucks showing whether vehicles involved had recorders or not ? I would like to see
Yes I would like to see that to, most of the trucks I see in accidents looks to be company trucks running ELD’S very few if any owner operators running paper logs
WHAT??? All i have to say, when your behind the wheel your responsible! NO ONE ELSE!
Well said, now stand up and do what you say, and not just be all about talk.
Eld’s kill
Too much regulation on truckers not enough on shippers and receivers. Check the percentile of crashes with big trucks vs cars and see who is at fault
@Lee You and others continually claim that the accident rate has gone up since December 2017, and the safety level has gone down. Please share a link or other reference material with us so we can see the actual data you’re referring to. Just saying something over and over doesn’t make it a fact. We’re a small trucking company that has been on ELD’s for four years. Our experience has been exactly the opposite of what I read in all these blogs. Our miles and production are up (i.e.; driver wages and contractor pay is up), and our violations are virtually non-existent.
ASK BURLINGTON NORTHERN RAILROAD FOR ANSERS THEY GET FREE FEDERAL MONEY TO PUSH ANTI TRUCK RULES , CALLED CONTROL
And until someone on our side puts those facts to schools and public, we’ll always be the bad guys in adults and heroes to the young that wave.
What do Shippers have to do with cars causing accidents now? Are you having a stroke?
Lol
Exactly Lee
It’s 80% of those accidents the 4 wheeler is at fault and 20% is the truckers fault I had to watch a safety video about it last month for my current company.
AGREED
Maybe this will be my this comment unde moderation but I’m really not complaining.about the ELD system.I’ve been out here since 1970 with one traffic ticket in 1971 and nothing else.I’m no cowboy.
The industry has changed drastically for the better in some ways and has gotten worse in others. I’m doning now because I want to and like my job.But many people have been impacted adversely because their managers expect the same productin as before and it isn’t possible.
The run I’m doing takes 9 more hours to complete than in the 80s.And Yes,I ran it back then so I know.
Single truck owner operator, used to work hard and make a good living. When was force fed the eld my gross dropped by a third. Basically cut all my profit out. Why burn up your equipment for nothing gained. I parked my peterbilt and went back to construction. I miss trucking, but not all the rules and regulations that put my family out of the business. I hope it gets so bad that those politicians who know nothing about trucking find themselves at the grocery store with no food on the shelves. Maybe then they will wake up.
The Maximum Hours On Duty Should Be No Greater Than 12.
Not 14.Total In A Week No More
Than 60.Ive Been A CDL Driver
For 34 Yrs.Reason Congressmen
Allow This Is Lobbying From The
Mega Companies Like Werner.J.B.Hunt.Swift.Im In Favor
Of Electronic Logs.It Prevents Company Owners From.Pushing Theyre Drivers Into Dangerous Hours
That Lead To Fatigue And Falling Asleep Behind The Wheel.Or Even
Pushing Many Drivers To Take Aderol Or Other Stimulants Like
Methamphetamine.
ELDs are not the issue. It’s the inflexible HOS. But as an O/O I’m happy with the increased revenue on fewer miles with more home time.
When are we getting Elds for car drivers? I’ve been driven off onto the shoulders so many times by them it’s pathetic. I’m not getting paid nearly enough money for saving a dozen lives a week only to have the government regulate the wrong people
I no longer own and operate after 26 years because the rules and regulations have changed in a way that works against the way that worked for me. I found myself driving faster than I ever had in the past and not stopping to rest when I felt like it. I stayed on the road often 6 weeks at a time and worked hard but not dangerously.
I’ve only used ELD since becoming a OTR. And like earlier responses, it’s not the device that’s the problem. It’s the over regulation of the device that’s the problem! The 70 hour rule, needs to be modified! The 14 hour day needs to be modified, because of delays at shippers and consignees! Or the shippers and consignees need to be on a clock, which won’t happen! As for parking! There was legislation to improve parking for semi drivers, following the murder of Jason Rivenburg (Google the name)! Instead, safe parking has dropped! And dishonest truck stops like TA hoses truck drivers with “reserved parking”! These places need to be fined, for these dishonested acts! The trucking industry needs to revisit Feb 1983! Yes, we need another strike to get fairness on the roadways and fairness as let relates to our ability to operate our vehicles! The four-wheelers are the main problem on the roads! We have to watch their stupidity and monitor our clock! Enough is enough!
Very well said!! Watch there stupidity AND monitor this stupid clock!!yep yep yep!!!
I totally agree.
Perfectly put
Trucker strike did not end up benefiting truckers. Go back and revisit. Making less money now compared to before.
Coming together and strike will be beneficial to driver this time, we are too disorganized, only we can make this thing work for us. The trucking industry is one of the largest industry in this country let us come together and fight
Why drive a truck at all? Find some other way to earn a living.
Yea, love flipping burgers for a 20 year old with a mouth. Look in the mirror… you’re not young and too many young man out there looking for work too.
They need drivers…give them drivers, but drivers organized and do the job right.
Amen were else am I going to make 10 grand a mouth
U can help by not buying any products hauled by trucks,then no drivers will be needed!
M a 24m from Seattle area I’m AWS certified in 3 different welding processes in 4G in all of them with OSHA 30 and can read blueprints. And with the skill set of a journeyman carpenter and was self employed from 20-21yrs old as a handyman since no one is hiring technically a entery lvl welder or carpenter. I can’t find a job anywhere in the Northwest and yes I’ve been to plenty of interviews. The best I got was working at a ace hardware store as a sales rep making 3¢ over min. Wage at the time was $7.47 an hour. I got into trucking becuase of that. Oh I wasn’t even able to get a job flipping burgers since they where hiring 30+ yr olds. Now in trucking I’m making $1200 avg a week take home. So please tell me why should I quit?
I have said it a million times, “HOW your time is recorded isn’t the issue, The HOS RULES that you are trying to conform to is the problem, once everyone agrees on that the industry could move forward!
All tou cheaters now have to follow the rules.. i am happy aboit it too
Truck dog you sound like one of those truckers that stay at the truck stops. Were you jealous because you couldn’t make the money they were making?? Whine, whine, whine!!! Maybe you need to flip a burger because you don’t sound like a truck driver!
Wow this went from elds and effects it has on drivers to. No wait its showing the affects its having on drivers. It went from how many drivers are quitting to drivers arguing amongst each other for no reason. It turned to pay to parking to outlaws and so on. So they don’t need a study they just conducted one. And so the chances of getting real results are not going to happen. Keep fighting drivers . You make their work easier.
Wonder how many of these pro ELD comments are Bots?
Your exactly right about the bots.. It is way to easy these days to buy software to spam canned responses on various forums. Its happening on all the forums these days.. Sad, no different in the mass media trying to influence how everyone thinks.. Just look at this last election, what the media said, and what reality was…
They are not on ELD they run cheatable Aobrds. They lose their Aobrd in Dec 2019. In 18 months they will start crying.
Shogun, I wonder how many of these anti-ELD whiners use to whine about everything else in this industry. Fact is, there are way too many cry-babies driving trucks.
I quit to dispatch. Wow what an eye opener. Rates are horrible. Shippers and receivers say who cares we pay detention after 4 hours. By that time we have to schedule an extra day, so the driver gets less pay loses miles and money. Must drive when they are tired and uses more time getting to a safe parking area with space. As a 20 year driver, No accidents or shut downs. I sure do miss it.
Looking to start a new career doing Long Haul Trucking
FOOLS ERREND !
It was a huge part of why I got out of trucking. When that machine took my drive time away from driving and used it up trying to find a place to park safely and properly, I put in my notice.
One simple fix here, that no one has even thought to mention. STOP PULLING FOR CHEAP RATES!!!
Dont take a load for less then 2.40.- 2.60 a mile.
Dont work harder and longer, work 10 hours. For better pay!!!
If you were all on board and refused cheap freight, freight would not move and you THE TRUCKER, would regulate the brokers and shippers .
One last think for me on elds. I do od loads and we are already plaqued with curfews and time restrictions weather issues and speed limits. And then trying to find a place to park is also and issue. So elds don’t help solve any of these problems. Like the live stock haulers these loads are time sensitive not because someone is setting back trying to make a bonus off the driver but because the markets change constantly or we have cranes that the receivers can only get at certain times. And that cost them money which eventually cost you money. Trickle down economics
YEP!!!! Another stupid move by people that have never been in a truck, OR ask questions of truckers about how to make things safer!!!! I averaged 725 miles a day in 30 days, now down to 453. You figured that at $.55 cents a mile.
I sent letters to every member of Congress back in 2013, told them they could ride with me for a week and see what the REAL world is like out here!!!!!!!!!!!
No replies!!!!!!!
Looking to get out ASAP!!!!! Unless company wants to pay me $1.10 a mile, or hourly at about $45……Then I don’t know if I would stay, tired of all the crap from DOT!!!
Be safe guys n Gals!!!!!!!!!!
I use to be at home every other night with my wife and kids , now I only come home for the weekends , not to mention the money i have to spend living on the road and loosing money do to poor driver performance do to ELD.
might be looking for a another way to earn income .
The New breed of steering wheel holders are the most dangerous I have ever seen I am hanging up my cell for good.
If you were running legal with paper logs, ELD should not be a problem and at times better because it counts every minute not 15 at a time
I’m kinda sorta glad I’m not able to drive anymore. Something’s never change. Drivers can’t get together and agree on nothing. Their like a play ground full of kids. The experienced can’t teach the rookies nothing because they know it all. The rookies blames the older experienced driver for making a living and supporting their families. Meanwhile the government is laughing and destroying the industry like everything else they get involved in.
Ive been driving since 2000 and I actually like elds but then again I work local. My company can’t force me to work more then 15 hours before elds I was working from 3am to 11 PM and dammm that was tiring. So in a way it’s good if your local but it sucks if your otr. When I started trucking I was otr and i did cheat just to get paid more and be home on time to party lol. But i do disagree that its like if your on a leash it has its pros and cons.
My issue is the truck stops. After ELDs became law, TA made most of their spots reserve. They did this because they knew we would have no choice. This forced some truckers to either pay for parking or park dangerously either of which is not good.
The congressman needs to make it a law that truck stops cannot have more than 20% of their lots paid parking!
Well I am not a bot I have been driving for 34 years. And back in the day I have run so far outside of the rules I should have been locked up. When the Qualcomm device came out I avoided the shop for months. I just knew it would make my life harder. But then I was able to get sleep because in between loads I didn’t have to make a phone call every 30 minuets to see if I had a load or not. No cell phones back then. Then came the ele logs and I knew that would destroy the industry buy it didn’t. I got used to it and actually got to like it. As I got older I didn’t like being pushed by a dispatcher to get the load ther no matter what. I make a very good living and I don’t have to be in the seat 18 hr a day anymore. Those that fear it will learn the trade off is worth it. You will make less than you did running illegal but you will live longer be healthier.
Good points Ken…you learn to make the system work for you…not you work for it. I had the Qualcomm system installed by the company. I could rest knowing they knew where to find me. I did “Expedited Hot loads” I might have hot loads for weeks on end, then I might set for three days, or more for it to pick-up again. Was not under pressure until I picked up a load…then I had gotten enough hours ahead to get it delivered on time.But I’d still had to go “outside of the rules” ,because I was close (usually with-in the city limits ) to the drop off point.
I now call ahead to shippers to deliver a load and talk to receiver’s and set the time I will be able to make it not being pushed by shippers and dispatch ELD OK but stell need work
and under less stress and you have ELD to back you saying you do not have the hours too run
Healthier? That’s a stretch. I am home daily but now with the 30 minute break it just causes me to spend 2.5 to 3 more hours a week at work. I still run OTR miles, usually 5-600 miles a day and multi stops. I have been on ELD’s since 2012, and I can’t think of one thing this industry has done to make my day shorter. It’s always longer, and not with extra compensation.
I’m just a newbie with 1 solid year and going on a long 3 month vacation… How is that possible??? Ken I listened to my CDL instructors and yes it helped that I’m a military veteran with a 4 year business degree… Also have a wife who just loves numbers, budgets and thrifty. I drove for CRST… YEP CRST… And besides 3 trainers had 2 co drivers but still stuck to my plans and calculated every penny I made…
In my short time OTR I’ve chatted, picked experienced brains, studied habits and believe my future plans as an Owner Op under the current ELD rules will allow me the luxury of 1-3 month vacations and that’s still considering truck issues, slow freight or even a dreaded trucker strike…
My point is I agree with your points and the other side of trucking besides money is living a longer and healthier life…
Far too many unhealthy truckers are wobbling into Loves, TA, Pilot etc… And earning bags of money while slowly dying on the job is just insane to me…
Thanks for ELD
I left and retired early instead of driving.
To many laws and driving isn’t fun anymore.
The sad thing is we have people making these rules that probably have never set foot on OTR! Let’s see them take a 10 hour break or 34 hour restart when they are only within 30-40 miles or less from the house. Now the driver has no choice but to sit and wait it out after already being gone all week or so! You feds have no clue what we do out here what we deal with nor do you even care. If you did you’d regulate the loading and unloading process so that these guys can get something done besides burn up your 14hr rule you created! I have went local fuel hauling and couldn’t be happier because OTR is no longer an option for me! Yes we still have ELD but at least we’re going home when it gets close! I do have a life to live and that doesn’t involve the DOT games like this! My hat goes off to most all of you OTR guys that are out there turning America! Thank You guys for all your hard work! Best regards!
Eld suck but I do now va dot can’t to pull people’s over scale never f in close
I’m already planning to leave, I will still be in logistics, just not as an owner operator anymore.. I’m going to quit while I’m ahead and got some money to invest into another venture.. Been driving 13 years and it gets worse every year.. I’m Tired.. Dispatchers are tired, Shippers are tired, Receivers are tired. More and more regulations but nobody regulates the regulators.. 🖕
First I don’t remember there being a strike in 1983 if there were it was only a few hundred drivers at the most. Now with that being said let’s me give my two cents on a few other things. If you been out here long enough and ran paper logs the yes you cheated on them all of you including myself did or you make more money who knows maybe maybe not. Eld’s Or not designed for you to make money there designed to make you run compliant with the dot hours of service and be held accountable for violating them it’s no different than getting caught with a fudged log you get a fine and put out service. As far as the pay to park issues if a truck stop wants to make a few pay to park spaces I’m okay with that but if there like the petro in Shreveport la. With 90% of the spaces are ptp then I don’t give them my business. As far shippers and receivers well there a different breed of there own they haven’t nor will they ever care about you personally or if you make money or not, so forcing them to pay a little detention after you already been waiting 4 hours is nothing to them it’s just something the company tells you to make you feel better is all. Myself I’ve been trucking since 1982 as far as miles I’ve driven safe or not so safe I haven’t kept up with the miles so when asked I just say a whole bunch of them and not make up some ridiculous numbers.
Being able to enforce the stifling hours of service regulations through mandatory ELD should artificially push up wages/mile by reducing the supply of available hours truckers collectively drive.
The increased expense for fewer collective hours driven will be a drag on the US economy. As consumers and producers are forced to pay more transportation costs as a % of the price if goods, we could expect to see backlash.
Whether the public will be able to trace unexpected price increases back to restrictive legislation is another story 🙁
Elds literally only forced the losers off the road who shouldnt have been there to begin with, opinion of a 20 year driver.
YOU MUST BE FREAKIN BLIND!!!FORCED ALL THE BAD DRIVER’S OFF THE ROAD HUH! THEY GET WORSE BY THE DAY. THE ONLY REASON MOST LARGE TRUCKING COMPANY’S WANT THE ELD AND THE AUTOMATIC’S, IDRIVER FACING CAMERA’S AND ALL THE OTHER JUNK IS THAT WAY THEY CAN CONTROLL YOU LIKE AN ANIMAL. AND YOU DON’T EVEN SEE IT! IT JUST MAKE’S IT EASIER TO HIRE SOME ONE WHO SHOULD’NT BE A DRIVER,ALL THE CRAP DOES IT FOR THE SO CALLED DRIVER.I SEE THEY GOT YOU PRETTY MUCH UNDER CONTROL I WOULD RATHER BE DEAD THAN BE CONTROLED BY ANOTHER HUMAN BEING!!
Hey you plan on living forever how else does this industry have a future gotta make new drivers remember there is always going to be bad drivers weather in a car or a truck
clete, agree. they feel comfortable on the leash. I am not. HOS always stayed on my way. yes, we need regulations absolutely. but before demanding me to comply with that junk, i demand the regulations to comply with common sense and constitution. 43 years commercial driving. no preventables.
The accident rate seems to have increased on the east coast due drivers being forced to run late nights due to lack of parking when their not use to it. I parked to take my 30min break and only a 30min break at tue Woodbridge/Dumfries Scales in Va. I pulled into the over weight lot because anyone that runs the northeast knows those rest areas are pretty much full after 8pm and it was 0130. First the scales master lady walked over and got confrontational with me myself and two other coworkers and then called the Va state police officer over there and he threatened to have the trucks towed while we were complying with the law by taking the break. Even after explaining it to him he still told us to move. I kept him talking long enough that my break was over with and I left. But the long story short of it, it should have never gotten that far and their attitude was completely unwarranted.
I don’t blame the truckers for leaving the business. You don’t see the government going after the people who work in an office sitting behind a desk, and put “government mandated” regulations on them ! You don’t see cops going up to their desk, and writing them a big ticket for a big fine, and costing them their job. Let’s go after the truck driver ! Why ? BECAUSE THEY CAN’T FIGHT BACK ! Easy targets us truck drivers are for them. I guarantee you this….let THEM suffer real big just ONCE, and things will change very quick. I was “FORCED OUT ” of trucking in 2005,by the Ohio State Highway Patrol by their lies, and deceitful actions. But who cares… I’m just another “low life” trucker to them. We’re a dime a dozen. We just go find another driver. That’s the dis-respect we are treated with.
Why do you speak about your self in such a demeaning way, you sure does not represent the majority of hardworking professionals out here
I get a kick out of all these driver’s who alway’s say about somebody cheating on a log,how the eld is going to weed out all the BAD driver’s!!! WHAT A FREAKIN JOKE!! I’ve been out here as an owner-op since 1978 and all I see is piss poor driver’s that grow in number’s by the day. if a driver wore flip flops and short’s back then the other driver’s would have kicked the snot out of them.GROW UP AND AT LEAST TRY TO PRETEND YOU ARE A MAN!!!I LOVE THESE STEERING WHEEL HOLDER’S WE HAVE NOW ADAYS.THE SHIPPER’S I DO WORK FOR HATE THESE SO CALLED DRIVER;S AND LOVE THE OLD SCHOOL DRIVER’S I NEVER MADE SO MUCH MONEY! AND GUESS WHAT I STILL AM ON PAPER AND ALWAY’S WILL BE!!! SO KEEP UP THE BAD WORK !!!
I like this OG!! ^^^^^^
10-4
Look kids, a dinosaur!
yeah I,m a dinosaur alright!! in case you haven’t noticed lately ,every=body love’s dinosaur’s!!!!!!!!
25 years veteran OTR. No DUIs, DWIs, no accidents ever, PSP report excellent, no tickets for almost 4 years. Because of the ELDs, I’ve stepped down from full time driver and now part time, short round trips, once a month. The hassle from ELDs is just not worth it!
It makes trucking unsafe always in hurry.Not able to relax alwaus watching clock.Makes drivers rush and drive improperly.Turned truck free parking into payed parking.if you get stuck in traffic might jave you run out of time o unsafe area parking along sode pf busy road highway. Thre idea was great in a office buta bit stupid out here on road.Needs real drive input to work correctly.
Have been on e-logs 4yrs, really pretty easy to use but absolutely changes the way you drive and not in a good way. And yes it’s the shippers and receivers who have screwed up the industry, not the e-logs.
So many great points being made!
Sleeper time being wasted: Because of dealing with shippers, receivers, and loading / unloading (hiring lumpers) are a huge part of the problem, but politicians can’t focus on the real problems, and upset their puppet masters, even though all the crap OTR drivers have to do now will have to be resolved to handle automated trucking. (ie. We can’t stop making truckers walk back and forth to our office and having to hire lumpers etc., to make roads safer, but we will do it eventually to not have to pay drivers to drive.) Eliminate the need for drivers to leave the vicinity of their trucks, and put shippers / receivers on a clock, where drivers get paid substantially for delays.
Totally inadequate parking: It’s far more important to have OVER 60 GOLF COURSES AND COUNTRY CLUBS within 20 miles of Chicago, than to have a 1/2 dozen large rest areas to eliminate the parking problem.
Ridiculous HOS rules: I decided that driving was no longer worth it, when 30 unpaid minutes was added to every single work day, because idiots don’t think that I can drive 8 1/2 hours straight, or that I need a full 30 minutes to take a leak and grab a snack. But if I stop and take a leak and eat, then the 30 minute break will put me over my 14, and I won’t reach my destination, because it took the shipper 4 hours to load my trailer.
ELDs aren’t as much of a problem as all the other problems being magnified by ELDs!
All it’s done is cause rate to go up.
Make driver Drive in extremely bad conditions do to a clock. Sit and watch the clock tick while you’re waiting to get started.
I drive tired now more than ever before a computer tells me when to sleep when to wake up when to take a break regardless whether I’m tired or not.
33 year’s but I give it up in 2 year’s going to do AC work pays better now.
Easy Job 6500 a year HAVC.
ELD are good if you running line haul ……but for an otr…you will starve to death…and most guys running line haul got lucky they first job and never been otr…so they don’t even understand what REAL trucking is the money great but they think just like office personal….and as far as the pay I didn’t really make a decent living until I went to line haul…..but these companies are NOT DRIVER FRIENDLY at all….bottom line is that we are going to keep get screwed and it’s are own fault…like everyone say we don’t stick together…..but no-one (drivers) not going to do anything about but complain
And I’m over just trying to find a local gig… can’t go OTR at this point in life…my elderly mother depends on me too much right now…
Argh! I hate not being able to edit!
… I decided that driving was no longer worth it, when 30 unpaid minutes was added to every single work day, because idiots don’t think that I CAN’T drive 8 1/2 hours straight, or that I need a full 30 minutes to take a leak and grab a snack …
ELD’ are about compliance. Those whining and quitting are the biggest offenders more often then not of running over hours to make more money and more likely to be the cause of an accident. ELD’s are easier and less time consuming.
And compliance is suppose to 100% about safety
I thought a paper log was all about compliance too!!! I can do the same thing on a paper log as you can on an eld.just because you think every-one cheat’s on a paper log doesn’t make it so,that’s what the dot and law enforcement is for.,to fine or shut down a n0n-compliant driver!!!I would think you probably have enough to worry about in you’re own life with-out worrying about what I do in mine.
Face it. It’s because of a few sensationized accidents involving celebrities in 4-wheelers and drivers who should have known better. It’s always the truckers fault, when in fact the higher % of accidents involving a truck are caused by moronic 4wheelers. Dashcams have made a difference.
Too bad politicians don’t bother with input from drivers, and find real solutions to problems.
I truck in Canada and we don’t have them yet unless you run south I would be more interested in how many more trucks are on the road now compared to before eld’s and I think if you run less than 10 trucks you should be exempt
Southern California based company hauling sand & gravel with day cabs. Typically can’t dump before 7am. Drivers used to load early to beat traffic- then catch a nap waiting for 7am. Now we wallow in traffic so we don’t run out of on-duty hours- but our driving hours extend due to traffic. We go out of state for specialty products (overnight in motels)- therefore ELDs required. The ELD law needs some revisions- mainly the ability to go off-duty and stop the clock. I had an instance where a driver pulled out of the yard- had engine problems- returned the truck to the yard. But his clock had started- so he lost five hours of on-duty that day while the truck was repaired. And the devices need to work as advertised- the two types we tried weren’t ready for prime time. Self certification by the manufacturers should have included penalties to the manufacturers for selling devices that didn’t work properly. I could spend half my life on the ELD technical support line trying to get my ELDs to work right. And there is no chance I could use ELDs to create an IFTA report without the fear of being audited. Might have to retire early.
How many of y’all have called “your” legislators?
If they don’t hear from folks, they don’t know.
The issue I have with it is having to turn down work. I work a full 14 hour day, but I drive daycab, so am home every night. The dispatchers plan a 14 hour day, but don’t account for any extra time needed for traffic, construction, waiting to load and unload, etc. In addition, we are required to take a 7 minute ‘safety check stop’ after every 2 hours of driving.
There is no wiggle room, and my company has a zero tolerance policy for HOS violations. So you end up turning down work and going home after 10 or 11 hours because you can’t legally complete the last trip. Everyone loses.
I definitely know what that’s like I work for the LA Regional food bank now I’m out on the open road because I couldn’t get enough hours
The ELDs are not the problem. The problem is the set of rules the ELDs are used to enforce. For example, if I drive an hour after time off for rest, then have to park for six hours waiting for a load, why does that six hours count against my 14 hour day? Just because I moved the truck and then took a long nap shouldn’t count against my driving time.
That was the same problem I had. I wasn’t an outlaw trucker by no means at all. The products I hauled there was so much wait time
Wait till you are at a shipper or receiver and you been setting over your 14 with no load time they say we will come and get you into your 4th hour of your 10 you are told to take a door your truck starts recording movement you load take your other 6 leave on your trip pulled over for inspection officer asked what is the 10 min after 4 off well you are parked for another 10 because u drove 500 ft at 11mph y r on duty. 10 more off and a ticket eld showed compliance you are right rules are the problem heaven for bid you don’t forget to go back to log off duty
Bigc change company’s I drove to a shipper with 1 hour left on my clock 3 hours later backed to a door. 2 hours after that pulled out and parked at the other end of the building and went back to sleep to finish my 10. My company has it set up I can drive up to 2miles before the eld puts you on duty driving. That issue is solved by how the eld is setup with the company.
you better be careful driver!!! all the other perfect driver’s will say you’re cheating on an eld!!! and here I was told that was impossible,imagine THAT!!!!!!!
The study that needs to be done is to measure the first year’s accident rate with ELD enforcement against prior years and then dump or modify the rules if the accident rate has gone up. DOT will be loathe to conduct that particular study since they are afraid of what the answer might be. Drivers I’ve talked to that work for companies that are already being forced to use ELDs report a marked increase in accidents since the forced ELD use was implemented.
Needs to be done before mandate because more are on elds 2016/17
I was just a company with two trucks running ag products I could seem to get the eld to work for me and what I was doing we had so much sitting loading and unloading with the added expence and a few tickets I parked them. I enjoyed reading others comments
my trips are about the same but i am driving much faster to make it fit.at the end of the week it is about the same. i am going as fast as most of other traffic now(there are always a few hammers). What i hate is the inability to stop in a good quiet cool place; without an APU and the current weather patterns it is intolerable and the DEF will clog after 30 hrs at idle, not to shutdown but to noticeable performance loss. it is only an hour or two a day but it is a huge difference to me. almost 40 years and it’s going to have to be enough. i don’t think i have ever slept 10 hours straight in my life; avoiding city traffic is now near impossible, that is the biggest waste.
Don’t worry trump stop all new legislation implications as soon as that declaration expires you will have speed limiters and front and rear facing dash cams dash out the front can be benifit the only reason to have driver facing is to see what you are doing or to utube blog while driving it apears to me oh and don’t forget sleep apnea machine they can make them standard equipment in a truck
Just go to a company who pays by the hour or salery one that pays well and respects you and by happy I’ve been out here since before CDLs I’ve ran outlaw styl and by the law the pay is not a lot of diffance with penaltys so high and chance of jail time loss of license and all at stake I try to play by the ever changing regulations and still enjoy in my opinion one of the best careers out there getting paid to wander around the country works for me
Not sure what all the fuss is about, the rules are the rules, absolutely nothing changed with the ELD mandate, hours of service regulations are Exactly the same as they have always been. The only thing that changed was the medium that you record them on. No different than saying you got to use this book with a red cover now instead of a green one. Not one single rule changed. So simply fact is the only people who are complaining are the ones that broke the law to begin with, and the only ones leaving are the ones that can no longer get away with breaking the law on a daily basis, so good riddance to them. Now we are all on a level playing field.
level playing field? now that’s funny!!!! all the mega carrier’s coming into a shipper and gutting the rate’s,buying truck’s at big discount’s,part’s at big dicount’s etc. etc. if you call that a level playing field,you haven’t ever owned you’re own truck!!!!!! all they want to do is run the owner-op out of trucking.i wouldn’t work for one of those carrier’s for any amount of money.
Its not the eld it the 14 hour clock thats the problem,
those all 4 it comments are given by company drivers that are making what? about 38cpm or no every company is trying to get you to the 40cpm rate RIGHT!!! or newbies that dont know that they are only getting 40cpm out of that $5 a mile the company is getting so they dont know no better so they not trying to get a better part of that $5. Lease and O/O have to run harder because they have to pay for all the things you are utilizing for FREE, truck payment and insurance, fuel, tolls, medical and life insurance, trailer rental if they are not an O/O then the company still takes 25 to 32% of your money just for the privilege to use your trailer if you lease on with them. So it’s not about the CHEATING it’s about trying to make the ends meet. PS find out more about the industry you are in…
I’m about to start driving a tanker after I get my CDL can some one give me great advise about the starting pay scale
This law just was to favor the electronic log makers , and to make it much hard for a driver to be and support our families missing home time and family memories , they should have made the research before they made it into law , this sure will hurt not just the drivers but the US because products and services will be afected for all. Take that log out , bannedbthe use of it and allow to work and drive with out that pressure, thanks
Went from OTR to the Sheriff’s Department. I know it seems like switching sides, but becoming a Trucker is more costly and regulated than becoming a Cop. Get rid of the stupid 14 hour rule and other inconveniences, increase the pay, and I’d be happy to come back.
Ran paper logs for years. Generally as a rule ran legal, did not do things to put myself in a position, otherwise I managed to run legal, so that when and if I were inspected or pulled over my log book was right, and I ran one log book. Went to electronic logs while working for a large carrier, it took awhile for me to learn how to use them and I did What I found was that I made the same money as before. It did not make any difference. We all work for a pay check and if my pay check was small it was not from a lack of effort on my part. It was the company that I worked for they work hard at making sure I did not get the required miles each year to get lousy penny raised per mile. When confronted with the facts, they pretended to care and then increase my miles for about two weeks then right back to where we were. By the way all of these large carriers do this, I called it controlled socialism. If I found another driver in the same company was making the money that I should have been making I looked for the brown spot on his nose. Recruiters lie thru their teeth to get you sign up and then after you get there you find out what the truth of the matter is. Logs do not matter, they are going to control how much you make any way they can. Run you from california to north carolina then stick with a bunch of 200 mile runs that you cannot deliver early too. and then you sit and get another 200 mile run, and if you complain to them about it. It gets worse sometimes. Good luck, glad to be retired.
I drive 5km/h faster than before and Iam 30% more flustrated that didnt got home and was missing just 20min. Almost got 1 ticket for loogbook for 22min. Stupid.
I believe that a study would be an excellent idea, however, I do not like the wording:
Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota introduced the legislation last week. It is an incredibly simple bill. If passed, it would give the DOT 180 days to “conduct a study to determine how many ‘employees’… who must comply with the electronic logging device requirements… have ceased being operators of a ‘commercial motor vehicle.”‘
How many employees?
I am an owner operator, NOT an ’employee’ will I and those like me actually be counted?
I am concerned that this bill will only entrench what the FMCSA already believes… This may not be a good thing for trucking at all.
Let’s have a REAL study done, not a sham for the politicians.
Well , I have read all this stuff and I am 68 years old and been in this game all my life. I was born and raised in the Trucking Business . I think this ELD is a Great tool if it was tweaked to do something about this 14 hour rule . The hours that a driver has to sit and wait should not be counted as part of your 11 hours. I mean that’s just crazy. I see they have done something on the agricultural side to be exempt while waiting at Produce sheds as long as you don’t go over 150 Air Miles from your 1st pickup you don’t even have to show it all . You don’t have to do a paper log or anything . That’s a big help with the agricultural side but it should be that way with anything if you set and wait. If they would fix that 14 hour rule I think it’s great.
What does that mean ? My comment is awaiting moderation !
I’ve lost one load a week I was doing 3 I cannot do it because it’s shorts me on the run that I have by 3 hours and if I have to deal with construction I am really out there and out of work thanks to Corporate America
I read most of the comments. It looks like there are at least two groups of drivers: 1) those that work for trucking companies and just collect a paycheck, 2) those that own their equipment and lease it to a trucking company, and 3) those that own an operate their own equipment. For the first two groups the ELD’s must indeed be more than a pain in the neck. For the third group, depending on what they haul, a FULLY FUNCTIONED ELD can be a great tool.
My son in law is an owner/operator but ONLY hauls overweight over-sized loads. No wait times at Home Depot or WalMart etc. Parking is a real issue when he hauls a big bulldozer – so is getting fuel! The differences in state regulations for hours of operations are a real pain. He has to plan very carefully when to “pull off” to sleep. We do need more, many more, parking areas on the interstate and the state highways. Who knows but if they were built for trucks only and had the basics of just laundry and showers the states might even make some money. IF the ELD is fully functional it is possible to calculate the profit on a load, plan parking time for general maintenance such as oil changes. Stuck by state or local regulation from pulling around Dallas (no-one wants to fight with a 13’+ load in front of them during rush hour). But the time is not totally wasted: sleep, meet people to share issues about equipment and the route etc. I am not a trucker and you are all the safer for it since I am partially disabled. But I have built/ fixed companies for 55 years and I know how to LISTEN. We talk at least once a day. He has ideas, I listen and then push him to defend his idea. For me, it is fun! I have learned most of all what a great community truckers are. God bless you all.
i dont care i worked smart local short runs thats how you do it dont care about long hauls thats for brains less drivers
I sold both of my trucks and went back to being a mechanic. ELD’s made thing unsafe, drivers racing against and limited places to park.
I sold both of my trucks and went back to being a mechanic. ELD’s added to the unsafty of the road. Drivers racing the clock and decreased parking spaces due to everyone parking at the same time. It also adds to an unhealthy diet on the road.
If we the drivers
Just decided to strike for 3 days, nothing will move in the country , I know everything will stop
So imagine with me the power we have
But we must be united as one
Then we are the power
Company I drove for had 22 drivers, 3 of us left, if they are an average company I would say a hell of a lot of experienced drivers left
Left OTR trucking, went to the oil field. When truckers are unreasonably burdened by regulations that cause MORE public danger, there should be adjustments made that allow refinement. Stop blaming the driver for EVERYTHING…it rained, drivers fault, tornado, drivers fault, snowstorm, drivers fault. No wonder more people are finding other lines of work, who would put up with this for a career?
In general, I agree with what my dad said.” Technology will be the ruination of this country”. The eld’s are proof that it is happening already. Been out here 25 years mostly on paper and driving legal, pay has popped even when rates go up. Cause others cost rise, tried on board logs in past and nearly went broke. The key point is no one puts the diver first when they are the captain of the ship. And for safety, it has gotten worse out here with eld’s in trucks. Almost been 8 times in a month from drivers speeding. In 25 years on been side swiped once. Really had it with shippers receivers, brokers, bad drivers, truck stops, dot, fmcsa, and fda. Ready to sell truck and do something local, let all no intelligent drivers be complete idiots out here..
I agree that something must be done with shippers,receivers! I spent 16 hrs in a dock for them to charge $80 to unload 1 pallet that was all the same.product! Then i sat for 24hrs because they had to reschedule my last stop which took another 4 hrs to get off! No money made what so ever!
I have retired left the trucking industry way to early because of the ELD’s . I will do something else other than driving a truck.
That is a terrible shame because I still love driving my big rig. So long cowboys!!!!
ELDs don’t fix problems; inspection stations don’t fix problems; companies don’t fix problem drivers.. If the companies paid properly for the workload a driver can truly do in the first place, we wouldn’t be in half the mess we are..
The biggest change iv’e noticed is outher trucks trying to speed way to fast in the construction zones and in the truck stop parking lot people are going to die because these drivers are trying to make up their time in the construction zone going70 in a 45
I sold my truck and completely left the trucking industry this year. It wasn’t solely because of the ELD mandate. It was a variety of reasons: rates not rising along with the costs of operations, excessive and less than intelligent regulation, more and more examples of states applying the ‘taxation by citation’ mentality (new supercoop at the CA/NV border, anyone?).
As drivers, we already sacrifice time with our families, stability, and our health to this job. Lately, it’s becone harder and harder to show anything resembling a profit, regardless of where in the country you are, or what commodity you’re hauling.
I bring home more money every week now as a welder. I get to be home every night and every weekend. I have a retirement plan and health insurance. If the the trucking industry at large doesn’t wake up soon, more drivers and owner/ops are going to come to the same conclusion I did: Driving just isn’t worth it anymore.
My opinion is it hasn’t changed the safety of the road at all! It has never been about safety it’s all about money!$$$$$$ It seems to be more accidents then ever blaming the truckers for them. Drivers are forced to park on the side highways and off ramps more now then ever! There are more commercial no parking zones so they can write trucker drivers tickets when they leave these facility! I have nothing against ELD but in my view only ones that this system is hurting is driver! No one else cares!
What’s the difference between ELD and paper it’s the same amount of time unless your cheating your paper logs, I agree the traffic is in sane can’t get any where but that has nothing to do with the logs, was always told plan your trip !!!!
I have been out here for 35 years . Yes it was bad then with company’s pushing loads but we could stop if we were sleepy but now we have to push on . The government don’t know what really go’s on out here they con’t make the money we use to make so they cut us back. I use to love my job now it’s a bs job it is unsafe out here now. No where to park, tickets every time u turn around. It the federals or the state taking our pay . NO WIN stay out of trucking no life out here. Anymore..
48 years trucking,Gman logs have never worked because of low pay, and irregular routes.Most log cheating was to close gaps of dead time,inluding naptime, traffic avoidance and shipper-reciever holdup.MANY drivers are ready to leave so get ready!!!
I am afraid to go driving for a company because of ELD.
Well Im jumping ship the 1st wk of Oct. Yey for me!
I have over 2 million safe miles on & off since 1984 in the good ole days of trucking. No cell phones, the big orange ball in the sky was the primary national truck stop, drivers didn’t park at the pumps like nowadays, & the Monfort lane was the hammer lane you ran if your rig ran over 70mph.
Ran multiple paper log books hauling produce in the 80s from west coast to Michigan in 42 hrs steady. 8 speakers in my truck, lots of rockin down the highway & coffee. And dozens of speeding tickets a year (no CDL then) & as long as I paid the tickets they never showed up on my record. The good ole days.
Ive adapted to the ELDs but as many of you alluded to, im in a 65 mph trk now, get .52 per mile, detention pay, nice equipment, home weekends, ect but my schedule is so tight Im lucky to get in a shower during the week. Can’t find a place to park when I need/want one. Ive rushed thru one on my 30 min break during the day that extended to 65 min that I wish I had that extra 30 min i used taking the shower at the end of the day when im hung up in another construction zone going nowhere.
So b4 i get sideswiped out here by some buffoon playing on his phone & wrecking my spotless multi-million safe driving miles, im exiting what has become a cesspool out here with prominently UNprofessional UNsafe steering wheel holders who drive their rigs like its a Nascar time trial bumper to bumper & every week I have a close call because of some clueless nitwit with zero common sense doing some stupid & ignorant out here driving & Im in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no enjoyment trucking anymore & why im moving on come Oct. ELDs can’t do anything about stupidity & no common sense cementheads that are overtaking the industry.
what you said I can relate too in my 42 years but I am gonna still keep truckin for a while yet until one off these 4-wheelers cuts off my left fender because they cannot look too see if they are pass me or not
Been out here since 69 and nothing has changed. Drivers do not stick together on issues such as cheep freight, overly long detention time, and the list is endless so no point in listing them all because we all know what should be changed. Sad part is things will not get better unless WE as a group make our voices heard. This is kind of like when a road is built and twenty years later the planners realize they need more lanes when they should have thought ahead and now not only does it cost more but its so difficult to get it done. Same thing with what we all face now. We are to blame for letting someone that never sat behind the wheel for hours on end only to start searching for a place to park or settle in on a bad meal at the end of the day. Now i’m not suggesting that we are all bad but we know there are a few that just have no respect for anyone. One example is the no idling at a idle air position and I driver with a motor screaming all night long or worse one with a refer. I’m sure some will pick apart my comments but if you want change it must come from ALL drivers flexing their muscles and make your voice heard load and clear. BTW and tell me i’m wrong. How many of us when calling it a day keep going over our figures to see if we actually made any money for the day? If it’s just me that has these thoughts then so be it. One last comment, While there is not much difference between paper and eld there is a major prob. And no one with any brain cells as far as i am concerned can tell me i’m wrong. I see no problem with paper log and going off duty or sleeper when a shipper has you at the dock for hours. We should be able to stop the clock. Now the BRAIN cells. eld starts and dose not stop till you are out of hours even if you were sitting in a lawn chair in front of your truck for those hours. Ok I am truly sorry for this overly long message but we all know how it feels waiting and waiting and only to find out yup out of hours. At least if we could stop the clock while sitting in out lawn chair we might have a half a shot getting to a truck stop for a bad meal since shipper says get OUT. Ok i have said my piece
My plan was to add more jobs in the industry to help others out some, but the truck driver job become more than a headache. Once I quit I’ll be a real estate agent. Too much 😡😡😡
I haven’t quit completely but I did change to a job that’s easier to drive on a fixed schedule and only part time at that.
Compliance is a great word. To use it & understand it makes a person feel intelligent. That said, anyone using it as a foundation for their argument in favor of e-logs is a hypocrite. In all my years on the road, ( 21 years this month), i have NEVER seen a driver do a proper & thorough pre-trip. Sure, everyone kicks the tires, turns on the 4-ways & does their tug test. Admit it, how many of the e-log, smartphone, GPS generation that we have now has ever or would know how to check the adjustment of their brakes? Do drivers even carry tire gauges anymore? They must be saving them because I’ve not seen many being wielded about. Fact is, safety is what we should all be about, whether on paper or e-log. Most people, when faced with their payday will shave those corners. In my opinion, compliance IS NOT safety. The part, I guess, that troubles me is, the dumbing down of our culture. We like anything that takes the ” work ” out of work. I’ve never been fired for refusing to do something illegal. I’ve been brow-beat, punished or starved, but never fired. However, I’ve “rode the outlaw trail” knowingly & willingly in my career. Now I’m e-logging like most everyone else & adjusting fairly well, I might add. Am I in compliance? No more than anybody else. Am I safer now? No. Safety is not regulated or on a device. Contrary to current belief, there is no app for that! Safety starts between your ears folks! Remember this, the government that tells us what is safe has missed that mark before & the companies that felt these rules and devices would be beneficial, for whatever reason, are the same companies were pushing you too hard not so long ago. Have their motives suddenly changed? Probably not.
All those drivers agree with eld most of them are steering wheel holders ho work for a big company and drive like team for a month smelling the farts each other inside the can with wheels just for pennies.most of this drivers don’t have a least a camping tent for sleep they prefer stay working like that for the rest of them live because never ever had known nothing better.you can see those drivers on the truck stops looks 100% trash.what can you expect from people like that.?Those drivers are most of them are sons of the government.thems are working and still getting food stamps benefits.what can you expect from people like that ho try to use a food stamp card on a truck stop.no other word for it.100% trash.
Commercial Fleet Accident Rate Hits 20%
One in five fleet vehicles will be involved in an accident this year, according to new data from Automotive Fleet. The impact of these accidents can go far beyond monetary — they can be fatal. So, there’s no question why safety is the number one challenge organizations with fleets of vehicles, trailers, and other equipment look to solve.
If its earning a living that concerns everyone ..simple answer…eliminate mileage pay and give drivers salary ..as long as drivers get paid by the mile the more drivers are going to push themselves …elds suck but they are not the issue
I myself like the ELD and have been driving for 42 years I take my time and work at my own pace and still make a decent living. Every company out here is looking for drivers and I see the shortage coming but the crunch is not here yet but is coming. The young kids mostly do not want too do it because they see there is no time for a personal life in truckin for the most part and some off these new drivers in there sandals and jogging pants hanging off there buttd cheeks I wonder what there Mothers think off them. I’ve been there and done that and I jjust take it as it comes and do not get excited about it anymore it’s just another day is paradise. Eventually our goverment will see the mess they cause or else we will be put out too pasture with these new driver less trucks ,but I think I will be retired by than.
It’s just a smoke screen to take the attention away for cut wages.
Don’t fall for it – lets talk about how wage cuts are causing a 100 % turn over in the industry and causing truckers to look for something else to do.
Lets fight the real problem before the industry self destructs.
ELD’s force a driver to stay in the seat and drive tired. ELD’s have not made it safer out here they made it more dangerous.
It’s funny to see some of these people commenting on here. I was a O/O for 12 years and have been driving 21 years. Over time I’ve seen rates plummet and load/unload times get even longer. If you’re a company driver and never had the responsibilities of coordinating you’re income versus your cost to run and maintain a business with all the unspoken expenses as a owner operator. Then YOU have no business at all to disrespect a O/O! Don’t get me wrong. You’re still as important as the next driver. But to disrespect us as if you know what O/O’s speak of when talking loss of revenue is ignorant. One of the easiest ways for the goverment. Yes goverment to fix the ELD problem is to allow a stopped clock. Everything is electronic anyway. Fix it to where you have the same 11 hours to run in a 24 hr period with 10 off but electronically monitored. It was ease part of the situation. Allow the split sleeper birth. And stop allowing shippers/ recievers to abuse time. 1 hr load and unload times. Then after its detention! Its not that hard. So to start the day your day you can plan better and not be forced into bad situations. For you new school drivers. If you like where you at being pushed for your pennies. Then have at it. But for the rest. I think they would agree. Monitor the daily drive time. But let drivers determine how they want to drive the 11 hrs. Not a clock that keeps ticking.
In 20 plus years of trucking! I have never seen anything have such a negative impact on the trucking industry & me personally as the ELD! Safety has went out the window driver well being is a joke! The ELD is a tool for the government to get a handle on fuel taxes & to track drivers! Plus the big money of the ata is using the government to level the playing field! There is nothing about an ELD that is about safety it’s about big money ! IMO there is more cheating on ELD than there ever was on paper! So to answer your questions the smart ones did quit or altered there tracks so no ELD is needed ! Wake up America before big money takes you down
I sold my truck because of eld’s.
ELDs were never about safety. If you cared about safety you would pass laws to ensure better training and you would pay more to retain the good drivers you had. This was just companys like Schneider, Swift and JB Hunt who have thousands of trailers and do mostly drop and hooks to force owner operators and small companies out all together or signed on to them. Who in their right mind would come into trucking too make 4, 5 , and maybe 600.00 a week before taxes and away from home weeks maybe months risking their lives. Yes you make more with experience in some cases but your first year you may average less. .32 , .29 even .14 cents a mile on a truck governed at 65 do not add up to much. As a nation you turned your back on the trucker. We have been used, exploited , underpaid , overworked and over regulated. If you don’t love trucking you won’t make it 6 months in the beginning. You may even love it but simply can’t afford to continue. It’s no driver shortage, it’s a shortage of companies treating drivers as people and paying a living wage. Some of the fault lies at the feet of some drivers but whoever you blame the reality is the same and the economy will eventually suffer to the point some won’t be reelected.
ELD force you to run compliant, compliant with what? A bunch of rules that nobody who has ever driven a truck came up with. Who sleeps for 10 hours, a diabetic in a coma? Someone coming off a three week crack binge? 11 hours driving? Where’s the science behind that? There is none. Just some abitrary numbers by some overpaid independent study, if it was even that in depth.
If you are pro eld because you are a rule follower then you should be performing the most through pre-trips ever. You should have a replacement fuse for every possible fuse size in your truck, the law requires it. You should have a tire gauge, a tread depth gauge, tools, lights and spare bulbs, mudflaps, washer fluid, reflective tape rolls, up to date permits, trailers with current inspections. You should be performing leak down tests, checking belts and hoses and carrying tools for minor repairs, be able to tell if brakes are out of adjustment and if you have bearing or suspension issues by the way a tire is wearing. Instead, I see a bunch of drivers out here “logging pre trip inspection, sitting there like lazy slobs waiting for the 15 mins to be up so they can roll out.”
Then they get on here and defend ELD’s because they are all about safety and following the law. What a bunch of jokes we have out here driving nowadays.
Not only have tire testing equipment BUT USE IT and if a tire is 5 pds low fix it dot during insp don’t do that because they could not due quote oh wait they don’t have a quote to meet I am friend with il st officer just a road cop he’s required to due 15 com insp a monthly if everyone was totally compliant no one would get anything done it would take 2 hrs to do a good insp I mean under over and around.
Personally I adjust my pti to be done all throughout my shift so my preliminary of 15 minutes is adequate. I carry fuses, lights and electrical repair parts. I carry all tools necessary to make all minor repairs to avoid shops. All of this helps me make a decent living because I operate with the mindset of “what if?”. I use a rand McNally TND as well as regular atlas and mostly plan trips on the fly because I know real time can’t be planned. My TND sits low in the windshield where its legal but I do use it in transit when traffic conditions allow. Not getting complacent is the key to success, drivers don’t take advantage of prioritizing their day and that’s not a HOS issue. I’ve never been giggled on any inspection, I will admit to speeding for momentum around obstacles, I’ve been driving since 2013 thanks to illinois veterans grant through a local college after retiring from 30 years as a industrial mechanic. Choose to educate yourself, have patience and determination, have plans to operate safely and courteously and you will be successful. Safe travels.
So I slept at home only 3 hours in the last 24. The day before I slept 5. I had to take my son to a hospital, that’s all. Normal life. But then I was dead tired running the highway all night. Dead tired. To the point I did’t remember if I called the dispatch. My e-log however did not know I was dead tired. According to it, I was fully rested, because I spent more than 10 hours at home. There you go. That’s only one real life example how this technology is useless. But it is a pain in the behind. Especially when it’s time to stress about a non existant parking for the night.
How is the technology useless? You think a paper log knew you were tired? You chose to drive tired. That has nothing to do with anything but you. You can’t blame a machine or a piece of paper. Only yourself.
Trucking sucks, not worth the money,being away from friends and family. Treated like crap at receivers and shippers, lied to by brokers and dispatchers. Being put under a 14 hr rule that just causes stress and fatigue. Get out if you can before trucking ear up the good years of your life. Dont do it ,unless you dont want a life.
I left driving. The world is a weird place. I just can’t believe how drivers support elds. Some call paperlogs cheating, I call it hustling. I guess most company drivers like being truckstop cowboys
I love people blaming a machine for their problems. An ELD is exactly like the pieces of paper you have in your paper log book. It’s no different. Not the tiniest bit. It has 4 lines just like your paper log. It tracks your time just like your paper log. Hell it reminds you when your DOT mandated 30 min break is coming up.
It tells you when your day is through just like your paper log. It splits breaks (8/2) just like your paper log. It tracks the miles you’ve done over the course of your day just like your paper log. It starts when you start it just like your paper log. It logs off when you log it off just like your paper log.
So how is it the scourge of so many drivers? It has done absolutely nothing to change the way we drive.
Shippers haven’t changed. Receivers haven’t changed. Hours haven’t changed. Yet the blame rests with a device that is EXACTLY like the paper logs we carried for years? No. The blame rests with drivers who for too long “modified” their paper logs. It’s just that simple.
Ever been to a truck stop and walked into the tv room/drivers lounge and seen a few drivers getting really comfy in those chairs? Go get a nap and then come back and see how many are still there. Then these same drivers will finish a 10 hour break and take off. But that’s the fault of the ELD. Yeah…no.
ELDs are not going anywhere. Embrace them. Learn to use them to your advantage. You want to make more money? Keep the doors closed. By that I mean get behind the wheel and drive. That’s what you get paid to do anyway. Stop using the ELD as an excuse.
Now there is one thing I really wish the DOT would mandate for all receivers. That is all bills should be stamped “subject to count”. Drivers should not have to wait for someone to count every item. All companies have computers. Let corporate sort it out and free up the driver. No driver should ever spend more than 30-60 min at a receiver.
Anyway, that’s my $.02. Stay safe out there. Peace
You are the one that does not understand!!!!
It’ is easy to tell you have not driven when trucking was a “free” trade.
It is now over regulated because of large trucking firms hiring people with no experience without trucking mentality.
You and many do not understand that all these regulations are a direct invasion, and just a start, of our daily life and those chair warmers telling us how, when, where, how fast, whoch route, etc to do our job. There is no other job with the amount of regulations as the trucking industry.
Some are not steering wheel holders.
Some have their own authority, with 1-3 trucks, and responsible and have years of responsibility to show for it. And after 11 + years of being responsible, they are going to regulate us as if we were irresponsible.
Look at from that point
aw what’s wrong ricky, never learned to add and count? aw I get it ,you need a little electronic box to count product for you!!!!
I made up my mind to quit and close my business when ELDS’ became mandatory after 43 years of safe driving and running in all 48 states and most of Canada, I didn’t know that I was doing it unsafe until the government in their infinite wisdom told me so. To all those motorists that I didn’t kill or maim, I’m sorry.
I am on the fence here. Ive always ran paper and Ive been out of the game for awhile but recently been thinking about jumping back in. on one hand I can see the benefit of the eld which in my opinion is the higher rates. on the other hand I can see all the problems and disarray they have caused also. I would say to those struggling with the eld to stick in there because in my opinion it will not last. I say that because it is starting to take its toll on the economy. Take a look at the ag haulers and livestock haulers! Those exemptions givin to them was not for the truckers, the exemptions were for the farmers!! Now their making more changes and those changes are not for the drivers but rather the shippers and recievers in an effort to get the rates down. Don’t drive around with your windshields fogged guys, the decisions made and those that will be made has nothing to do with YOU!! When the transportation industry is messed with, well its like messing with minimum wage, your not putting any more money in anyones pocket, your just pulling the middle and upper class down and driving up the cost of living… When the effects hits the wallets of the middle and upper class, changes will come! Just my opinion….
For you dedicated drivers that say it’s not the ELD.
Imagine having 7-13 stops at dept stores at garden center and not the dock and without appointments.
You think the ELD works with this type of trucking?
Miles to first stop can be from 70 mi to 1100 mi.
Each stop takes 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
Then drive 10-50 mile to next stop.
How do you think that works out?
I will complete my last load on July 6th 2018. I love the trucking industry as it was. I can not live with the frustration I live with every day knowing the clock is ticking and most of the time I am sitting.
It’s very aggravating and very bad for the family because when I get home, I’m not the cheery person o once was.
Thanks a lot to all the elites involved in ruining our life and career.
May 6, 2016 my brother was MURDERED by a fatigued, dead tired… suffering from the “Circadian Effect”, paper log pushing over 36 hours with no sleep Experienced Truck Driver!!!
Did he strike my brother with his truck because my brother walked in front of his rig… Did my brother merge into a highway lane without looking… Did my brother run a stop sign… Did my brother make a u-turn in front of his rig… NOPE NOT ONE OF THESE APPLIES!!!!
My brother was sitting in his HOTEL ROOM… YES HIS HOTEL ROOM!!!!
Now tell me how the hell that happened?!?!?
And btw I’m a truck driver!!!
I think there needs to be some new rules in place so we can freeze our 14. That would solve all my problems with the shippers and receivers. I don’t understand though why drivers say they can’t make money. We are a small company of O/O and most of us bring home 3000 – 4000 a week right now. That is take home before taxes, which is up from this time last year(without running ELDS) about 300-500 avg.
In 6 months it will be too late. The economic growth will plummet if we don’t get more trucks moving the increase in freight. These politicians don’t realize that everything in this country moves by trucks. Wake up AMERICA!!!
Abolish the HOS altogether with the driver signing a daily statement:
” I certify I am well rested , have been off duty for at least 8 consecutive hours in the last 24 hour period, and will not drive a commercial vehicle when I am sleepy.”
Then increase vehicle inspections and traffic enforcement 20 fold.
I quit totally even turned my license in I now work 6-2 go home enjoy life! Tired of companies taking 4-6 hours to load and unload and unable to find parking! Eld’s made my life HELL!
How many new drivers with little or no experience are put on the road by the bigger companies to replace the loss of the older more experienced guys that left or do less? That equates to more accidents from less experience doesnt it.thats big business/bought government safty at its finest if you ask me.and yes im a 23 year rookie.
I think some may find the following information useful.
I have been with the same company since I started driving in 1994.
I ran paper logs 100% legal until 2010 when our company put Elogs into all of our trucks. I was making the same money on paper as I was on Elogs, except on Elogs, I was forced into a different routine, and was working harder. Notice I use the word “was”. I have noticed a small decrease in my pay since Elogs have been made mandatory. Why this is, I can not say. I do not think making Elogs mandatory was the right move. The rules are the rules, some will follow them, some will not. The reason people are leaving the industry is not only because of Elogs. It is a combination of many things. Driver pay is a big reason. Big companies acting as glorified babysitters is another. Driver facing cameras, disrespectful 4 wheelers, dispatchers, and we have those idiots on the radio always talking about not wearing panties, and blatant disrespect of fellow drivers simply because you work for a company they may not like.
We have drivers claiming 40+ years of service, yet still act like a toddler. Safety bonuses are taken away from drivers because they did not meet the revenue criteria. Greedy DOT (Not all) who invent violations for the sake of revenue. We do Pre-trip checks to make sure our rig is in tip top shape, but the driver is held responsible when his company refuses to fix reported problems.
We have big mega carriers pushing for regulation after regulation, yet exempt themselves from that regulation (Sound familiar?). It’s time we start showing each other respect. We need to start helping each other out. We need to stop working for carriers who make you drive 4000 miles a week, then only pay you for 2500 miles. Before anything can ever be accomplished, we need to start respecting each other. Big companies are taking advantage of the fact that we are not united, and it is we, the driver, who, in the end, gets used, and abused.
if you had to run “different” on elogs than you ran on paper you weren’t running legal.
Read the post before commenting, please. Running different does not necessarily mean legal or illegal. It simply could mean running different freight to different places. For instance, maybe my normal run was coils out of Pittsburgh to Chicago. A different routine would be pipe to the well pads. Maybe I had to change the times I could work. Like say, a normal day would be starting at 3am. Now I have to start at 9am. Different does not mean illegal. You seem only to want to find the negative in something. I bet you’ve got lots of friends.
The ELD is okay. The 14 hour limit is the problem…and dangerous. Drivers sometimes need to take a safety break (nap), but who can take a nap when you have that clock ticking in your head knowing that it’s costing you money that you can’t afford to lose.
Left last August, haven’t looked back. With me it wasn’t about HOS, or safety. Plain and simple I don’t need a babysitter telling me when I can work and when I can’t.
Truck drivers are the heart and soul of this countries economy, I think people should understand and take that under consideration before, you eat, sleep and drive under without us none of these things would be at your disposal.
Nobody runs legal.
Are you on duty:
while you are waiting in line to fuel for 30 minutes?
The whole time you are at the customer?
The whole time you are dealing with the your broken down truck on the side of the road?
Bunch of liars.
The legal answer is yes you are on duty.
No one will question it until you wreck and hurt someone.
Remover it was 6 seconds that saved the lives of the passengers that landed on the Hudson River ( see the movie Scully ) look at the wreck with a Walmart truck killing a comedian. The driver lived more than 75 miles from the terminal. The NTSB considers his commute time to work as on duty time, the same as if you fly across the country to recover a truck the flight time is on duty not driving. This is in construction of the vibration of the aircraft causing fatigue.
All the above is never considered at a rodeside inspection, only after a crash involving people getting hurt or dieing.
Sorry for the long answer. Renmbember no one has your back but you.
I am going to quit. ELD CSU’s me extramarital stress. Yes I was braking the law using loose leaf logs. But I only broke the stupid 14 hour rule so I could rest mid trip. Like in the old days when you could do 5/4 all day all week and all month. The restart is also stupid. I drive 3530 miles in 5.5 days every week same rout. Fresno to Denver for Frito lay VIA Bakersfield, barsto, Salt Lake City, Rawlings, Casper, Denver. Then back VIA I25 to 80 West
To do this in 60 hours I have no time to do anything no room to take any extra time to rest mid day. If I take more than my 10 and my 30 min brake I am late.
I am 60. Started driving on the farm when I was 14.
Theses new laws and the ELD are all stupid. I have never been more fatigued in my life.
Oh yeah, I live in the truck for 20 years. Don’t have a home or family. I give all my extra money to charity. So when I quit and I will I will be homeless and poor. And 60. This is my gold watch ?
After 38 years in the truck transport business, a heavy haul broker (140,000 Lbs), currently a under graduate of the CITT, 27 years of crossing the USA / CANADA border, consistently analysing the various aspects of highway transportation , hours of service, Fuel surcharge, rates ,and many other factors within and beyond the confinements of this topic for which I respond today, my personal conclusion is as follows:
-Electronic logging device’s have installed on our trucks, nothing short of , a braking mechanism which like a guillotine is reluctantly and un-wantingly awaited but know it will drop , at which time the truck “MUST STOP.
Efforting to condense this, keeping it factual and hopefully retain the MUCH NEEDED HELP of those in government, I will say just this.
We’re not driving a 3200 lb Honda Civic or pickup truck, that we can adhere to preset itineraries, pulling off the highway to “camp out” at the scheduled stop truck / travel plaza , which are in grave short fall causing the trucker to continue on with hope the next plaza has a spot to park at, and now over hours due to ELD regulation.
Please, let us do our job. Perhaps more closely oversee training of new commercial driver’s , perhaps utilize the vastly available devices and implement new driver’s with tracking devices to monitor their characteristics on the road.
Just don’t leave us with the current ELD which is exactly like a boat at sea which ran out of fuel.
Let us return to our families safely.
Let us continue to be the life blood of our two great nations.
I thought I’d at least give the ELD’s a try. Results are in and I’m leaving the trucking industry this fall.
I’ve lost income and home time due to the ELD’s.
No you haven’t. You haven’t lost anything. This is all a made up lie. How have you lost anything. The 14 hour rule has been in effect for years. So has the 10 hour off duty, 11 hour drive time, and 30 min break. All were there before elds took over. If you’ve lost all that you’ve been cheating. Plain and simple. All the eld did was make it easier for you to track time. Why not just admit you were cheating on your paper log.
if you know anything about a paper log….did u always make sure u spent the 15 minutes u logged for a pre-trip doing the pre-trip…or was
it 12 minutes 39 second? Paper log was and is a tool relative to the driver using it. if you look at the f…l…s…a of ’38…con grass
and the ships/wreckers/breakers have cheated every driver at every dock they held them past their appointed time and made them run
like little hamsters.. what hes said is not a lie…it is pure experience.
Rick, please tell us all how many years u been a trucker.
Remember to tell the truth…that way you won’t have to remember anything.
10-4 on the newbie,another brain washed wanna be trucker!!!!
Whoa, you haven’t been around the block, nor have you been in a trucking company that has tight schedules. You also must be weird. Most of us want to get home, or at the very least get somewhere to park. Have you been in Boston or San Fran and your clock at the dock is ticking down, but shipping clerk say you can’t park there? You will driving 60-80 miles in heavy traffic to find a place to park, going well over your hours, and getting a violation.
You, my friend, are the one being dishonest here. You used your personal paint brush to try and brush out everyone’s voice. Not only that, but you made accusations against as if we are law breakers who set out to break the law and plan to break the law. You sound very green buddy. You should think a little more before you start making accusations that aren’t based on any known facts.
80,000 lbs in an accident is guaranteed fatality. The laws will work eventually once everyone is compliant. It’s too bad law enforcement doesn’t ticket people for erratic driving or wreckless driving, also the science of numbers show that accidents actually decreased with eld/HOS use. Before commenting, be sure you’re correct so you don’t appear foolish.
No the accidents have increased if your a driver you will clearly see that driving down the highway from all thw dug out ditches. In witch was not there prior.
Personally I adjust my pti to be done all throughout my shift so my preliminary of 15 minutes is adequate. I carry fuses, lights and electrical repair parts. I carry all tools necessary to make all minor repairs to avoid shops. All of this helps me make a decent living because I operate with the mindset of “what if?”. I use a rand McNally TND as well as regular atlas and mostly plan trips on the fly because I know real time can’t be planned. My TND sits low in the windshield where its legal but I do use it in transit when traffic conditions allow. Not getting complacent is the key to success, drivers don’t take advantage of prioritizing their day and that’s not a HOS issue. I’ve never been giggled on any inspection, I will admit to speeding for momentum around obstacles, I’ve been driving since 2013 thanks to illinois veterans grant through a local college after retiring from 30 years as a industrial mechanic. Choose to educate yourself, have patience and determination, have plans to operate safely and courteously and you will be successful. Safe travels.
which tnd u using??
The moment my truck is paid off I’m going local or parking it.
A clock being wasted on anything but driving is a waste of time. Trucking isn’t worth the headaches.
Id wrather have my freedom than the government pointing a gun at my head telling me when i can sleep an cant. You little weekend warrior sneaker shoed drivers can have your little computer. You never was a truck driver.
You can edit a lot of different E-Logs. Even the drive line. You need your own authority. I refuse to do another paper log. They messed up and the E-Log will work in our favor. Do your research. I grossed $9800 from Wed. afternoon to Mon. mourning. I’m used to $11,500 in a week. Remember I started on Wed.
We are treaded as criminals always being watched . Safety and spotless records don’t matter anymore. The Mega company’s that don’t have to answer to the insurance company’s because they are self insured and are the ones killing people on the highways because they will put anyone with a pulse in a truck . Look at their wreckage everywhere. Swift is a prime example. It’s like the Government is so corrupt the take money from the big mega carriers to get there way . The small mom & pop company’s were never represented by anyone who gave a dam .
FATALITY in Carlisle PA 7/4/18 because of a ELD forcing a 30 minute “compliance” break on the shoulder if I-81. Truck was struck by a motorist who died instantly. I’m seeing lots of trucks on highway shoulders taking breaks since the ELD was mandated. DANGEROUS results of this device…..HOS exempt drivers are not getting into as many accidents… Just look at the Florida hurricane stats from fall 2017 !!
I haven’t quit driving yet, however I say if you’re going to regulate the drivers you need to regulate the companies first and hardest. I don’t have a problem with ELDs it makes it easier for me to keep an accurate account of my driving. Driving in today’s market verses driving when my dad drove as an owner operator with his own authority running on paper logs and working with other drivers is not the same. Being a company driver I hate the fact that the company has total control of my driving and can change stuff and add tamper with my logs after I’ve shut down for the night or a break. I am the driver and I should be able to make my own decisions on the road and on my logs. Some idiotass sitting on his or her ass should not be aloud to control my driving or onduty of offduty time. Give control back to the drivers regardless of whether or not the are company or owner operators. I think the underlying problem is simple do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Meaning if you wanna be treated like dogs balls then treat others like dogs balls. Everybody wanna can eat cake, but not everybody wanna bake a cake. Everybody wanna get respect but not everybody wanna give respect. ELD’s aren’t the problem people are the problem that’s why people are trying to take people out if the truck and put in a computer. People are Stupid and Ignorant that’s why trucking today isn’t the money maker it used to be. Now you’re barely squeaking by if you’re getting by at all. That’s my rant I’m pretty much done. But DOT can’t have my CDL until I’m dead and about to be buried or when Jesus comes back, but maybe not even then I’m going to need my CDL in heaven to drive on streets of gold in a golden truck. I ain’t no troll I’m just a man trying to make a decent living without killing myself to impress an idiotass trying to stiff me.
I have a small company we only have one hotshot truck and one tralier. With this ELD mandate and the DOT targeted of hotshot units it’s hard to support my family.I served in the United states Army also serve as a chief of police in a small town have been for 19 years now. Was going retire and make this my retirement company but don’t think that will happen now so much for serving my country.
Myself and 5 others left our company and went to short hauling.We are all thru with the Government bleeding us dry with all the added burdens of the eld. We are grown men and we can make decisions for ourselves. That’s why we became owner operators.Since the non drivers make all the decisions on our lives let them drive the trucks and see ….
Owner operator , Small company with only two trucks. Lost my drivers due to eld. Live in a small town have not been able to find drivers interested Once they know I have to have the eld device in my truck they are not interested. So I have 2 perfectly running trucks decorating my yard. Hoping this eld mess clears up. Otherwise will be forced to sell my trucks and call it done.
Personally i dont have a problem with ELDs. Im all for them. I don’t have to guess how many hours I have. Paper logs run on 15 min increments. I can fuel my truck in 7. Take a crap in 5. Saves me time more then takes away. I think the ones that have the problems are the ones that cheat paper logs. Im happy the cheating is done. Less accidents. Less death do to running 18 20 hrs a day
Elds are not the problem. If you got paid for your time and what you are worth there would be no reasonable objection to elds. You have to keep a paper log. If your not cheating on paper then elds cant be a problem for you.
I’ve Been driving truck for almost 7 years and everything was prefecly fine with my job but after they told me they’re about install something in my truck called damn Eld then I start suffering because I have lots of issues with that damn eld first of all That device and force me to drive at night time while I don’t like to so I’m driving like fatigue and issuing finding a parking spot while my HOS done everything was totally terrible then I decide to quit trucking job. I think the government FMCSA they have to pay the price for what they did to us I wish they go to the Hell whatever invent damn elds
I haven’t quit but I would say that my job is no longer enjoyable. I also sleep in the truck an average of two more nights a month away from home.
The thing that disturbs me the most is that in the name of safety, they are going to babysit your truck and force you to partake in their mandates….mandates that every cop knows were never followed, nor could be followed to get the job done. They did all of this to us to save 200 more lives a year, and those 200 lives cannot even be factually tied to elogs, but rather are probably tied to the fact that all four-wheelers have air bags and safety devices today.
There is more. Some studies show trucker fatalities on the rise. How could this be? Elogs!!!!!!! One thing that the public and the legal system doesn’t understand is how hard it is to stay in the cab of a truck for days on end. After 5-7 days, truckers want out, and they want to get home. So what happens? It’s snowing, Normally you might slow it down a bit, but you want to get home. Your logs will get you home on a summer night, but not a winter night. So you push it a little more than you normally would, and wam, into the ditch you go. Also, road rage is up. Truckers are pushing it in traffic because that timer is ticking, so they push cars down the road more, weave in and out of traffic, and run stalled yellow lights.
I’ve been driving for 20 years. In the last five years I’ve had more close calls with wrecks than all the previous 15 combined, and it’s because I’m up against a clock. I’m trying to get to the harbor for my appointment, or trying to get home so I don’t have to spend another night in the truck. And I’m mad a lot more. Driving used to be a leisurely thing, but now it’s a maddening thing. Always got to get going…now…not yesterday, now!!!
Sadly, the government and the journalists will continue to marginalize us. I’m learning that the journalists of today are just cheer-leaders for the government and the justice system. The real people, you, me, loggers, miners, farmers, workers in plants and manufacturing, fishers, construction workers, all take a back seat to what the government and the journalists want. Amazing that I have to come to this small web-site to put my opinion out because no journalist in America is even talking about this. In the meantime, the guy who was supposed to help us, took our tax exemption away, and seems to turn a deaf ear to the millions of truckers, owner operators, and bigger trucking outfits who are pissed. Buy they’ll continue to marginalize us. 200 people can throw urine and feces on people in Boston and its front page news, .but if millions of truckers marched in Washington, you would hear crickets on the main stream media networks the next day. Then, a month later, they’d put some fallacious story out about truckers having gay sex at rest areas, buying lot lizards, and taking coke, all of which I’ve seen so very little of that I think they are just lying to America to make us truckers look like a bunch of imbeciles.