Fmcsa in 2015

I've run on Elogs and paper....I can't say I minded Elogs, in fact, I will admit, not having to draw lines in a comic book was kinda nice. No more sitting and counting hours, which can lead to mistakes. Yeah, they're OK. BUT.....

With paper, if you're twenty minutes from home, and hit any delays, you're not stuck there. (I never had an issue here, if I was outta hours twenty minutes from a destination, I said screw it and ignored the ##### box).

Running local, it really won't make much difference to me, I don't fill out comic books now, I don't go over my 12 hours, but with Elogs, there's no question about what I was doing...just a few buttons to push

 

When I was otr and if I was 20 minutes from my house but about to run out of hours, I wouldn't let it stop me from going home.

 

Nothing was and will stop me when getting closer home.

 

Run into and unforeseen situation that caused delays? That is what the extra 2 hr you can drive beyond the 11 is for in the regulations. If the run could normally be made in 11 hrs or less, and if weather or traffic delay causes a problem, you can drive beyond the 11 for up to 2 hrs. Only catch is cannot go beyond the 14 hr total before break. Or, you can do similar to what I also do. I have numerous strategic locations I can leave a trailer and then bobtail home off duty using e-logs. Planning, planning, planning. It works just like location, location, location works in real estate.

After 30 years of doing paper... I'll keep the e-log. I get home every time I am headed there. At the worse, I may need to leave the truck somewhere other than home for some reason other than logs, so the wife picks me up. And that personal vehicle distance is tax deductible at 55.5 cents a mile!

 

Most likely will be a game changer and many folks who have no foresight to get on top of this before any e-log mandate comes, will be hurt. But as for the delays. True enough. But that is why I get $38 an hour for those delays. Nope, it is not out of the carrier pocket. They bill the customer for the detention. Only once in 7 years has there ever been a problem getting them to crack open their wallet and pay it. I may have to wait a couple of weeks or even 30 days before I get it, but I do get it. Got $380 for just one delay because they wanted the load at 1800, but couldn't get it unloaded till 0600 next day. Any customer gets the first two hours free, then they get billed. I took a 10 hr break and got paid for it. Nice taking in money with no vehicle cost eating it up. Something like any detention for delays should be a part of any freight negotiation. With an e-log mandate looming, there is leverage to start making those demands on a broker or customer.

Problem is, many carriers and owners haven't even started to get a handle on any of the issues surrounding a e-log mandate. It isn't like no one saw this coming. It has been threatened for years. Now it is almost upon us. And folks haven't even started to get a grip on it. Many will wait right up to the last minute before they give it serious attention, and then it will be too late. They could start doing things, while still on paper, as if they were on e-logs so that they could understand the challenges and adjust things to make it work. I will not shed a tear over those that play around like it will never happen and then lose their shirt because they weren't a little more proactive and use the time they had before any mandate to get their operation in order.

My tax preparer would verify that the e-log thing has not hurt any revenue and net income compared to paper logs. But then, going to e-logs was all planned out and the details addressed before moving to them. That way it was only a minor little bump in the road and any "pain" from going to e-logs was barely noticeable. 3 years later and no desire to go back to paper. We knew this was coming, so now we are already ahead of the curve. There is still time for folks to work out the details regarding e-logs. Just whining about it will not make it go away.

I suppose I wlll be ridiculed or called anything but a human being for addressing this, but that's ok. I will still be in business after any e-log mandate comes about. Y'all have gotten your "two minute warning" just like in football. Time to figure out how you are going to win the game.

 

I agree with what you say. But there are still a lot freight types that don't care about this mandate yet. The produce industry has always been a huge problem with order today, and want it yesterday. To many people cheat to make the extra money. When the mandate comes at the end of 2017, (this is what law makers are saying for a date) then, and only then, will certain freight types make changes. I know in the produce industry here in California, they don't even want to talk about it. It will be like always. When the product is not on the dock to sell on time, is when they will worry about it, ant the cost of food will go thru the roof!

 

And how will that delay time work out for you? I would say forget about it.

 

Well, then find out how those carriers that haul produce and also use e-logs are doing it. They are still in business, so they must be making the produce thing and e-logs work.

 

Go go to Salinas and Yuma, or any other major produce place. Most of the trucks are not on E-Logs. The ones that are, haul for Wal-Mart and other major vendors, with team trucks, or relay the loads. I see it every week. Trust me, cost of living will go up big. It's already happening because of other small regulations, this one will hit all aspects of the industry. I'am not worried about making it, I'am worried about the cost of living. Rates will go up, thats a fact, but the cost of living will to, and I don't believe it will balance out.

 

They make the e-logs work because they have the equipment and man-power to re-power the load to get it where it needs to go, something the smaller companies can't do, which is the real reason for the push. It certainly isn't safety.