Would any of you use an ELD without being forced to?

LOL, All these threads about the new elog drivers saying a little box is forcing them to postpone their nap and drive. It's hilarious

 

I'm still not on elogs. I also have a spine. Funny how you can't say either. Never once have I been "forced" to work more than I could have on elogs. That's not to say I didn't stretch it once or twice when there was someplace I wanted to be (namely home) and felt up to the task, but never once to benefit the company. I have the ability to look at the entirety of a situation and make a judgement call based upon the conditions on the ground at the time and the risks involved...a cost/benefit analysis so to speak...and roll with it either way. That box makes yours for you weighing only 1 variable...the HOS. Must be nice not having to think for yourself...just do as you're told, and if you're caught up in that storm because you couldn't stay ahead of it and that causes you to miss your home time because the load that got you home had enough time to sit on it for 3 days (which you spent waiting for the road to re-open), well that's just the life YOU chose by cheering on those ridiculous boxes.

My question to you, tuck, is will you still be a cheerleader for elogs when they figure out a way to prevent you from cheating line 4 time as well? I'd be willing to bet you violate the HOS on your little elog more often and more eggregiously than I do on my paper logs, because I log my time as I do it. The regs are very clear what constitutes "on duty" time, and I'd be willing to bet you aren't logging it all like you should. It isn't uncommon at all for me, though, to have 3-4 hours on line 4, and 8-9 hours on line 3...matter of fact, that's my typical "long" day. My "short" days might have 1-2 hours on line 3 and 2-4 hours on line 4. Totals for the week are usually in the 40-50 hour range.

So since you're such an advocate for elogs and want everyone to run "by the book", start doing so yourself. Log your line 4 time accurately. No cheats. No "well, the box allowed it" BS. Log it by the book.

 

The world of recording and enforcing HOS with RODS has changed enormously with recent advances in technology. The biggest tattletale of course is the ubiquitous smart phone and extending to the others including license plate reading technology, and verifying transactions via the internet. Another technology that will be deployed at my company and many others is to scan paper logs into the same format as electronic logs, giving the FMCSA an easy way to audit the differences between drivers on one or the other. Any attempt at "fudging" will be rooted out with precise computer efficiency. And in the case of a real situation, a fatal or serious accident, you just opened yourself up to penalties if you have taken any liberties with a paper log in the last 6 months.
So, yes I will gladly use an ELD because the risk is too great not to.
Stop with the ELD discussion and change it to the topic it belongs, changing the HOS regulations, the 14 hour window, personal conveyance details and the like.

 

Nope. I stuck with ELog carriers. Got tired of the paper log BS.

Elogs work for me dragging a deck hauling steel. I do my job, I get paid, I work well with my carrier to maximize my money.

Work smarter, not harder. I don't want to work 70+ hours per week. I LIKE my easy days and being home whenever I want. And still banking paydays.

 

Funny, I,already have a spine. My truck doesn't move for cheap freight. And I'm a company driver.

I work WITH dispatch to max the payday every week. And my carrier as a whole sees the benefit. We are under 100 trucks. My money to the truck doesn't get buried under thousands of other drivers. And I run my rig like I own it.

You can think what you like about me. It doesn't affect me one way or another. But ELog are the reality. Adjust, adapt, or bigger off.

 

I'd go back to crayons in a heartbeat. Elog hasn't affected me much at all but I have shut down at places I didn't want to due to not having quite enough time to get where I'd like to.

I wasn't overly creative on paper but did enjoy a bit more flexibility.

 

I am still using paper, and the ELD... No, I would not install one of these units even if they fixed the HOS.

 

I said I never got stuck 30 miles. Drivers that are anti eld always bring up that scenerio. I was simply pointing out that it never halpened to me.

 

It isn't about needing or wanting your hand held. Its about being a professional and following the guidelines and regulations set for the profession. If i had chosen to be a plumber or electrician i would follow all building codes to a T. i view the hos (and other regs) no differently.
Drivers always cry they aren't treated with any respect by society. That we are professional drivers, not unskilled labor. Yet they behave just liked the unskilled labor at a job site with a shovel in his hand whining about the foreman being such a sticker for building codes.