E-Logs - the good, the bad & the ugly

You still don't get it . If a driver has an e-log sticker on the truck he'd better not try to get by with a phone app and he'd better have an instruction sheet for enforcement personnel .
The driver DOES control the info on EOBR's and must manually switch from on duty to off , sleeper , and back . On the EOBR I used it was set up to go from driving to on duty after being stopped 10 minutes but I could manually switch it to on or off duty as soon as the truck stopped moving .
It makes no difference whether the engine is running or not when parked . Drivers can be off duty with the engine running and on duty with it shut off . Most shippers/receivers don't allow the engine running when loading/unloading . I have had some shippers require the keys be held by them when loading .

 

don't know why they'd wanna get rid of the 34. i'll take a fresh clock to recaps any year.

 

I just stopped responding because when someone doesn't get the difference between a regulation and a law or how the FMCSA works, the approval process used by the DOT for these units and keep driving their point of view while asking a question that can be answered by shutting up and learning, it isn't worth my time.

By the way, I just saw a neat unit built on a $35 SB computer - Raspberry Pi - and it does everything that the FMCSA requires. The guy who made it is thinking about marketing it for $200 and it does satisfy all the FMCSA requirements.

 

Have been at this shipper for over 14 hrs so far and don't know when will leave yet. They are making the product. Because of this ******* elog and my company's ******* rules about personal conveyance, I can't even bobtail to nearest convenience store to buy some ice for my cooler without starting my 14 hr clock... It wouldn't be so restrictive if I were an o/o or if my company's rules about pc were not so strict.

 

I know absolutely nothing about how the electronic logs work but it seems inevitable we're all going to have to use them in the near future or just give up this way of making a living. I have a question about the way they things compute your time. Just last night I was getting near the end of my daily time limit around 11:00 pm and started looking for a place to park for the night. I stopped at 5 different locations and found no parking space available. I know this is not a new problem but in the case of an electronic log machine what can you do if you have nowhere to park and have to keep riding for another hour or 2 before you find one? Certainly you will excede your 11 hours in the process. Is there a provision built into these devices for something like this?

 

It varies by how each carrier has their system set up . All units send an alert when legal driving time is exceeded . Some carriers have the ability to shut your truck down . Driving time is the one thing that can't be edited on any system . The action the carrier takes when you violate HOS is up to the individual carriers.

 

If you are an hour or two looking for a place to park, you should reconsider the way you plan your trips because that's one reason why we are stuck with logs and EOBRs.

 

OK mister Ridgeline, please inform the anxious trucker enthusiasts here on TTR just what do you mean. How are some drivers not properly planning their trips, allowing for parking anomalies and how are they supposed to "trip plan" in the EOBR world where a driving violation is permanently flagged in the system?

I just once want to hear one pro-eobr driver spell it out for us instead of using a single talking point, without reinforcing or explaining the comment in a way that seems reasonable to other drivers who are on an 11 hour/day driving schedule to make appointments on the other coast.

 

That's the first I've heard of drivers driving over HOS to find parking being the reason for EOBR's . EOBR's are coming because :
ATA wants them
Some drivers will drive as many miles as they can , legal or not to make as much as they can
Drivers allow dispatchers to push them to violate HOS
Some safety departments are incompetent and don't know how to audit paper logs .
In a high percentage of multiple fatality accidents a high number of log falsifications are found when the carrier is audited .

 

Lets not forget about the late Sen Frank Lautenburg... he was pushing 'em too.