Cookin' the books...

EOBR's will be mandated in the near future...paper logs will soon be a thing of the past.
Along with CSA2010, alot of small fleets & independents will be forced out of the biz for good.
Buy stock in big TL carriers like Swift, JB, Conway, Werner, Heartland, etc as these guys will see their market shares grow.

 

Not that I cook my books or anything but the last trip from coast to coast- I was stopped at the Joplin MO west bound scale and the DOT officer did a through check and on top of that made copies of my first and last log. So much for cookin books....lol

 

I thought that we would see a phaze in of EOBRs for all but started thinking about it. They still have not proven that it is going to provide additional safety. I have read a lot of the info that has been published on supporting EOBRs and they keep saying that it will make sure that drivers are logging legal. Then they talk about crash safety data. But they are not connecting one to the other. False logs is not even a blip on the radar in any crash data reports in terms of contributing factor. And what is funny is that even when fatigue is stated as a major factor out of hours is rarely a part of it.

So when, and I say when because I believe they will pass a rule requiring them, they do this you will have OOIDA and other groups sueing over it. And when it get's to the court it is going to be less political and down to the issue of does this rise to the level of treating drivers with clean records as if they are cheating to protect everyone. If they can not prove that, then they are going to have a hard time not getting this booted by the courts.

 

Other than the expense, this will not change my business one bit. All the hype around this is just that, hype.

CSA is better for the driver and will only affect companies that do not want to make repairs on their equipment and push drivers. And as far as I am concerned that will be a positive for this industry. They are not safe and are more than likely the ones picking up those loads below $1.75.

 

Cookin' the books?

Umm... I like to boil mine with some cilantro for about 30 minutes, add some tomatoes, green onions - simmer for another 20 minutes, and...

Voila!

 

As we all know that you can do it for years and never get caught. BUT the issue is when you get an audit after an accident. Then BOL, cell bills, fuel, CC, you name it will be looked at and you are out of business and likely bankrupt.

 

Yeah, by all means, I agree 100%
Many O/O and small fleets take much better care of their equipment than some of the big fleets.
I agree, CSA2010 won't affect you guys at all...it will put more freight on your trucks.
It will push out the ones you see running ragged rigs and hiring drivers for chump change with bad records.

 

I've been trying to answer you question, but I can't remember how....err I mean If...err No I mean I never did it....Did What? I didn't do it....Do what now?

But I think I recall somebody telling a friend of my Great Aunt's Cousin's brother in-law's Dad....something about lots loose leaf log sheets, hwy map with good exit numbers, calculator, note pad and thick dark curtains drawn closed. And certain items must match when they happened time wise. I also recall that i was told that sometimes this person was at home sleeping while his log book was still out working for him. But the logbook he was using in the truck was always 100% Legal.

 

I've used the EOBR now for the last several years. Actually, I kind of like it. It prevents all that "Hey can you help me out just this once" ? crap...Uh no, I can't..The Peoplenet Goddess says I can't. As far as the bad old days, sure, I remember them and don't miss them..To quote one of my old supervisors at UPS when I was on the Reno bid, "Surely you MUST have hours, we can always give you a new log book"..I tend to agree that CVSA 2010 when it is actually mandated will probably benefit the driver in the long run and stop some of the abuse from the usual bottom feeders. The days of running hot are rapidly coming to a close and the "cowboys" will stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. My feelings were always that I put in enough hours a week (even at a place like Brown), so why should I take the risk to give them even more ? It's like the old saying "Poor planning on your part, does NOT constitute an emergency on MY part"..