my thoughts on mandatory e logs

Yes, it will do away with short movements not being recorded, but the driver can indicate if they are fleet yard or facility moves, off duty driving to go to get a bite to eat, moving within a truck stop, etc, all of which can be off duty and non driving line times. The ELD mandate does not require that all truck moves be on duty or driving time. I just read thru a section that discusses this at length in the new ELD regulation, specifically pages 308-310. And no, it is not "as soon as the brakes are pushed in". It is solely actual vehicle movement. In roughly the same section, it covers things like shop personnel moving truck and other little goofy things that would not be construed as on duty or driving.

It does help when one actually reads the regulation than come up with scenarios that folks pass around at truck stops and on the CB. Information can negate a host of fear and conspiracy ideas that get thrown around. Now how fleets themselves deal with this, that is another story, but the ELD mandate does allow for certain off duty and non driving truck movements, just like they do now. While there is a new ELD mandate, it fully complies with the established HOS regulations in place, which allows for certain non driving vehicle movements. Nothing new has been added that wasn't already in place.

 

When General Patton know he would be fighting against Rommel,one off the first things he did was (re)read Rommel's book on warfare.Knowledge is power. And ignorance is NOT bliss.

 

Our ELOG`s dont change over for a period of 3 mins so for example you are parked in a small town for the night and your favourite breakfast joint is at the other end of town, you have the option of driving there and parking again within 3 mins after your rest but the log doesn`t register that your day has started. Alternatively if you want to be 100% legal you can also record it as an off duty bobtail movement.

 

The new mandate details that 30 ft distances be recorded and anything over 5 mph triggers driving line. It will still allow off duty driving for personal use and is allowing software programming driver can select for yard moves and such. The distance or time things we have grown accustomed to will go bye bye.

 

No more PC'ing 2500 miles to home? LOL

 

Yeah, that would be a tough sell!

 

Hmmmm.....

 

Wonder how that E-log thing is working out around the snowstorm in DC this evening. And don't tell me about the regulation "declaring an emergency". That does not apply unless you could normally complete your run and the emergency delayed it. Most TL drivers don't qualify for completing the run, the assumption made when the regulations were put in place in 1938 and almost everyone was headed for a terminal of some sort.
There are just going to be a lot of notations on e-logs, HOS technical regulations broken, and so many exceptions made that no one will be able to keep track of them.

 

I was coming back eastbound on I 580 to I 205, anyway there was a truck fire up on North Flynn Road, traffic backed up almost all the way back to Oakland. Tons of trucks parked on the side of the highway, presumably out of legal hours to drive.

I'm hoping that when the mandatory elogs come out, they will take away the massive fines associated with violations to bring it more in line with having punishments fit the crime.

 

Now you know better than that! Revenue is the life blood of traffic and commercial vehicle enforcement. They are chomping at the bit for things to get goofy. And to help them out, they will now have documentation out the wazoo. This will be nirvana for them. No more hassles of he said she said, etc. Now it will be the digital data said.