Do not waste your time working at this Trucking company you been warned.

More than likely they removed the PeopleNet ELD because it ended up being on FMCSA’s revoked list. The fact that they wanted you to upgrade to a new phone just to upload ELD software shows that they’re not exactly in a sound financial position!

 

That's like going to prison and having to pay for the Vaseline!

 

Could someome kindly tell me what ELD is please? I think it must be some kind of electronic replacement for the old written log sheets and, if that is the case, I concur with the above comment by @snicrep.

When I last drove commercially in Europe we still had tachographs with paper discs which had to be inserted every day, I think that is changed now and it is likely that there is some sort of electronic doodad similar to what you are talking about it. But what I do know is that if in 'the old days' we were told to buy our own discs there would have been an uproar to say the least.

 

Electronic Log Device. They are connected to the trucks main ECM/computer and are able to monitor everything on the truck. Older trucks are exempt from ELD mandate and can still run paper log book. We’re mandated to carry a paper log book as backup but everything is electronic via a tablet or cell phone. When you get stopped for an inspection you electronically transmit everything to the inspecting officer. Companies have some latitude in how the ELD is set up. For example how fast or how far you can go before it automatically moves you into drive status. Personal Conveyence and Yard Move are legitimate under the rules but some companies prevent their drivers from accessing them. So you get trucks moving around truck stops at 4 mph during mandatory breaks so they don’t get bumped into drive mode if their company has it set at say 5 mph moves you from on duty to drive even if your in a truck stop or yard. It immediately catches all hours of service violations. It can tell if you turn it off or disconnect it as it knows where it’s at via GPS.

 

Thanks mate, a very full description and what I expected although with tachos here everything is recorded, so moving around at crawling speed would break a break, if you see what I mean.

I started in 1963 and back then we had log sheets which were designed and printed off by the company. No sequential numbering so no idea if something was current or not. When I moved early on to a company known for long hours (we carried whisky in cartons on flat trailers and police would move us on if we were sleeping, didn't want a robbery on their patch ), and we could put down what we wanted.

I was with an old driver, many years with the company, both of us loaded with whisky from Glasgow, destination the docks in England for export. At last we stopped in a truckstop and I thought I could now get a drink and something to eat. But no, not yet, first we sort out the logs. The table was spead with paper and then put in order, 'always have a log which is current' he said. So if we were stopped we always had something legal to show, but the fault with this system was 'silent checks', of which we had no defence. The ministry men would hide alongside the road, behind hedges or buildings etc. to make a note of our reg. numbers and we would never see them. Then, several months later they would visit the office and demand the logs for this particular vehicle over this spread of days, but without mentioning which day and place was of interest, so the boss did not have a clue which to show them. However, I never knew anyone caught out by this and I think it was the whisky that did it.

Not good, but I was young and it was all new, an adventure, but times changed and, although I have heard of such scams since, I have never known anyone who did them. True or not, I don't know.

 

We had those in the trunks of our police cars back in the 70s and 80s. We called them the Iron Sergeant because they always got us into trouble. They were eventually removed after the cost of replacing them out grew the cost of the statistics.....

 

The ELD in question it is motive formerly keep trucking.

And the reason specifically that they moved from PeopleNet to motive, is because previously they were paying subscription fees to both PeopleNet for their hardware and also drive-wise for their drive cam service. With motive they are bundling that all up in one package and the video is much clearer and the asset tracking is much better. Not to mention how many issues we had with people net hardware just dying and not connecting correctly and everything else. They demonstrated to me what the software looked like on their end and why they were so excited about it. Has better tracking than Life360 actually.

The actual data usage is by the motive device in the truck not your phone so that's a plus. And honestly I can't do my job without a smartphone. And I have always carried two while I have been in this industry so I just threw my spare on the dash no big deal but I understand how to some people that is a big deal.


And to make things clear, yes I do have a set of blue stripes along the side of my truck. They will have to fire me if they want me to leave. I am a dumb redneck that likes moving big toys. And I am at least in my opinion adequately compensated for exactly that.


I am just not in the mood to get into an argument today. But next time at least spell the name of the company right. That way dumb Hicks such as myself can know which company to avoid.