E-LOGS

It isn't any different than forcing people to purchase insurance. We can record our hos on paper logs. We should not be required to buy EOBR's to do electronically what we can do manually with paper and at a much lesser cost. Under the new law that is coming down the pike, there is NO choice. You either buy the EOBR or you close the doors and don't earn a living. The only choice will be for the brand. Some people would not be able to earn a living if they went out of business or sold their trucks. Some people don't have any other skills or education to do anything else. Another factor is age. Many professions have age restrictions. This is one of the few that doesn't as long as you can pass the dot physical. And another thing this administration wants us to do is to go to a government doctor to get our physicals. Little by little our freedoms are being eroded. It seems that they are being taken in giant steps these days. I suppose going to a government doctor rather than one of your own choosing is also about safety?

 

Black boxes on airliners record radio chatter, engine data, course and location, instrument readouts, and control surface movements in real time. This type of information would also help protect a driver in an accident if he was not in the wrong. I have no problem with EOBR's. The E-logs are annoying though... lol

 

How many family doctors out there pass drivers that should not be driving? I see guys out there that weigh 500+ lbs with ankles and shins that are fire-engine red and as big as my thighs out here driving. There are many drivers out here that are heart attacks waiting to happen or on the verge of a diabetic meltdown. I weighed 300 lbs at one time and my blood sugar went out of control. Driving home one day and having your vision go blurry is a big wake-up call! I went to the doctor and got my **** under control and lost some weight. I fought for 3 years to stay off of insulin but finally was given a choice, insulin or lose my license and probably my life. Now I take a small amount of Lantus every evening legally and am forced to keep my numbers in the normal range to keep my FMCSA waiver and my job. Life can be a #####, it all depends on your attitude...

 

You'll have to clarify the "government doctor". Please do so in its own thread. I suppose it has something to do with your flawed comparison of buying health insurance and motor carrier compliance.

We are discussing compliance tools, and their associated costs.
You can choose to maintain the required compliance mechanism's or not. You admit you have this choice. By your own statement your argument is disproved.

 

Pilots still keep a paper log. At least the private pilots do. By the way, trucks already have a black box that can tell your speed, idle time, etc., It is called an ECM.

 

There are more people killed by 4 wheelers each year than trucks. Those in 4 wheelers have accidents while texting, talking on a cell phone, eating, working on a computer, doing makeup or hair and generally not paying attention along with being tired or otherwise impaired. Many have fallen asleep while driving. Yet, they are not required to do any of the things we must do. There are no restrictions on the number of hours that they can drive and they don't have to put a very expensive recorder in their vehicles to prove how long they have been driving.

 

Not every doctor will do a DOT exam. I usually go to a local medical clinic (Doc in a box), because I can usually get in and out without having to spend all day. At one time I had a private doctor who was certified for DOT and FAA medicals. As long as the doctor is qualified it should not make a difference. Having doctors that the government specifically wants you to see for a medical takes away some of your choices and will likely increase the costs of having a DOT exam. By the way, the reason my former doctor stopped doing the FAA exams is because they wanted him to buy expensive software in order to be able to do them. Had he continued he would probably have needed to charge more to do the exams. You can expect the same thing if Obama and company are successful in forcing us to use their doctors.

 

I don't want to start a separate thread to answer your question about government doctors, but I will be brief.

Obama wants drivers to go to a government appointed doctor to get their physicals. That is what I meant by a government doctor.

As to the EOBR's. The only choice the government wants to give us is which EOBR to purchase. It won't be optional whether to use paper logs or an EOBR. It is exactly the same as with force purchase of the Obamacare insurance. They may give you a choice about which company to buy your insurance, but you must buy health insurance from someone. The only thing that is flawed is that the government wants to force us to make a major purchase which violates our Constitution. Freedom lost.

 

I totally agree with you and say the same thing but there's no way to "control" those 4 wheelers. Feds can control us, and make a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$! It's unfair IMHO but it is what it is.
THERE'S NO FREEDOM IN TRUCKING.
This is not going to change. E-Logs are here to stay and drivers will take it or leave this industry. I don't have one and don't want one but may have to use it if I want to stay on the road that I love sooooo much. :smt055
This **** has nothing to do with safety, we all know that already. I already log as real as I can (and hate it) cause it doesn't help me to be more or less rested, it is just as inconvenient as hell. For example, I am taking a 34 now at a Kangaroo place close to the shipper I go tomorrow. Can't go anywhere else - unless I walk miles and miles or spend money on a cab... Company monitors truck's GPS and compare that to our paper logs. I live on the road. No home. My 34 are the best time I have to run my errands, go places, do other things. But not being able to drive the truck, I can't do much but sit here or walk around this area.
When/ if I get the darn e-log, the company will "give" us 1 hr off duty driving but we must not be under a load and have no trlr. HECK! I am always under a load cause even before I drop one, I already have one or 2 preplans and we can't leave trlr unatended anywhere for any reason.... Company drivers are slaves.
THERE'S NO FREEDOM IN TRUCKING!
If I had the ability, I would be an o/o and have more control of my life. Those who have their own truck, have stablished customers, good clietele, they have built their good reputation and can refuse what they don't want and have the freedom to do what they want.... so far....