Electronic Logs... Good or bad?

I thought I was going to hate them, but now that I'm used to them, I don't mind. Most of the big complaints (zomg! Ran out of hours 5 mins from home and had to take a 34 hour reset!) are probably either greatly exaggerated or just flat out made up imo.

For the week I was running electronic and paper together, I actually found that I ended up with a few MORE minutes to work at the end of the week because I don't have to show 15 minutes for fueling, and I knock it up to off duty if I stop to get a drink or go to the restroom or something.

 

I like e logs as I can glance at the screen and know how much time I have left to drive for the day, and being able to log things to the minute instead of 15 minute increments is nice too.

 

Pros
1. Your HOS are set in stone, no getting pushed by the company to violate your 11/14/70.
2. As long as you stay on top of making your entries you don't have to worry about making math/form mistakes and getting a ticket when the scale house says, "Pull around to bay 3".
3. The e-log will let you know how many hours you have left in your 11/14/70 anytime you want it to.
4. You can save time because the e-log goes by the minute. So if you pull into a truck stop to fill up and 3am when the fuel island is empty you might get in and out in say 6 minutes where on a paper log you'd still log 15 minutes.

Cons
1.You can't make time lost in a traffic jam dissapear like we used to with paper.
2. You will run out of hours sometimes at a shipper and receiver. Not a big problem if they let you stay till your 10 is up. PITA if they make you leave.
3. Forces you to trip plan and get after it when you have time to drive. Used to be that we could stop and do fun stuff and then "fix" our log later.

 

Making up for lost time on paper logs can be detected in an audit and possibly at a scale . ProMiles software is used to check driving time between duty status changes and gps records on cell phones are also checked .

 

Not all companies comply with the HOS as most of us know. The company I drive for implemented the e-log about 2 years ago. They did this to "Look good" in the eyes of the DOT in trying to "comply" with the CSA 2010 rulings. Since that time they have learned how to look for the wormholes and getting more out of their driver's day by moving their over booked freight! ie Loading and unloading during their 10 hour break or in "Sleeper" status. Using the "Off Duty PC" status to arrive to a shipper or customer. If a driver says they don't have enough time to pick up or deliver a load, Dispatch will review their HOS and suggest they change some of their "On Duty Not Driving" status to "Sleeper Berth" or "Off Duty" status to roll back the clock enough to help the accomplish their task at hand. They will only do this by the driver filling out a "Log Amendment Form" in their mobile comm system.
Seems like more and more of these rules and regulations are leaving the Drivers extremely vulnerable to penalties and disqualification.

 

Off Duty PC might slide while deadheading but can never be used when loaded .

 

First yes I can adjust my logs, as far as my cellphone why would I give it to DOT. There are rules to adjusting log books. DOT only knows what they read off the docs you give them or questions you answer. Some of the things I have seen claimed om log books at the scalehouse wall deserved to be caught.

You have to match time stamp reciept, scale tickets, bol's, fuel reciepts, etc... Anything you give DOT theat has a time stamp has to match your log entrys. DOT is not God and they do not know everything, they know what you tell them or give them.

 

If the DOT want your cell phone records for an audit, they can subpoena the records from your cell carrier, they can then see which cell tower locations and times you were using your phone, they can also do the same with credit/debit card purchase info, that's why its a good idea to pay with cash, the DOT can, and will, use any information to substantiate your log info, and, if you were ever to get into an accident, even a one minute discrepancy can fry your ###.

 

Neither DOT nor any other law enforcement agency can subpoena anything without probable cause that a crime has been committed. I know from first hand experience that it is hard to subpoena cell phone records and it takes time. It's not something that will happen while you're waiting. And, I would not give any officer my cell phone for any reason.