ELD Are there any silver linings

Yea I know. Evil government for starting the regulations on trucking this year... Oh wait, it's been a regulated industry for over 80 years.
The whole "The government telling me what to do" argument gets old when it was that way when you started. You should not have gotten in the industry if you don't like it.

 

>>yeah, yeah, yeah, well i started 29 yrs ago and you know what, it WASN'T that way when i started. Yes some regulations i agree with and think the industry needs, but governments job is to protect us, not get in the way of life every #### chance they get.
we all complained about the rule changes on sleeper berth, the 30 min break, the split sleeper, Sleep Apnea, now ELogs, the attempt for speed limiters, the DEF, more engine restrictions . tell me really out of the long list of new regulations over the past 10 years, how many of them have saved lives?? and how many have costs us money and made someone else rich????
Think about that awhile
and get back to me.

 

I think there are some benefits to the ELD mandate (or "silver linings", as you say). Here's what I see as beneficial:

• More money: More miles = more money. With the new ELDs, drivers won’t have to log manually. The time drivers aren’t spending filling out logs can be spent driving and earning more money.
• Quick inspections: With ELDs, data is easily accessible and there isn’t tons of paperwork to look through, so inspections won’t take as much time. Again, this gives drivers more time back to spend on the road earning money.
• Fewer logging errors: ELDs do the logging for you, so human error is taken out of the equation.
• Accurate accident information: ELDs capture driver and truck information immediately before, during, and after an accident.
• Roadside assistance: ELDs track location so drivers are easy to find if something goes wrong and help needs to be sent.

If you have specific concerns about how the mandate will affect your business, I’d highly recommend checking out the FMCSA website and talking to your logistics provider.

 

Good Lord how much time were you spending drawing lines on a sheet of paper? Its not brain surgery

 

Drivers
I have talked to many State Commercial Enforcement officers. They agree the new ELD is a 50/50 split for all parties involved, but mostly for the drivers benefit. The one that sticks in my mind the most is to benefit the driver greatly. The Electronic logging devices make it safer for the drivers whom use them in the aspect, that a company can no longer force a driver, nor use his/her job against them. The dispatcher has access to know the hours a driver haas left to run a load. Thus, it knocks out coercion in the industry. The opposite side of the coin the ELD's is there are certain areas that need tweaking. I personally own a fleet of well maintained, 2000 Peterbilt 379 exhd's, no ELD needed.

 

>>> While i will agree with the aspect that it will put a stop to the company abusing the drivers. and that is a major plus for company drivers. i still stay there should be an exception, as there was originally supposed to be, for an Owner Op with 1 truck driving. For us the ELD is way more of a pain in the ###.
examples:
old way - got to last stop, while sitting at dock, 14 hr time ran out but truck stop is 10 miles down the road. after unloading we went to truck stop / NOW - YOU LEGALLY CAN NOT MOVE
Old Way - 1 route was 10.5 hrs to get there but you wanted to take a slightly different route that was 11.5 hrs, but was less hills or less traffic, we did it / NOW YOU CAN'T
Old Way - started driving at 6am, was headed into a major metro area at @4:30pm, and my destination was 2 hours on the other side. So i would stop and rest, eat what not till after rush hour and then head over and shut down at delivery. Say around 9-10pm. a stretch / NOW YOU CANT - you have to go through that rush hour because the computer says you HAVE to or run out of hours.
**Please tell me how in any of the above cases the ELD as Improved my life? Made it safer for me? or safer for anyone else?

 

Not a thing has changed except that you can't cheat on the logs to "adjust" them.

That's all.

The same HOS, the same traffic, the same BS at the docks ... the only thing that has changed is how you record your time.

Edit, there was never ever an exception.

 

I do not disagree. The company drivers will have an advantage with ELD's. I do not, nor will any of my fleet have them. Just as in the old days when an O/O was required to have a Qualcomm unit installed. I had issues then, as they would not repair the holes and such to my truck.

 

Every single thing you say affects every single driver the same way. The only difference is that now you are going to have to plan ahead better, and you are going to have to figure out how to communicate with the shippers and receivers, i.e.. SAY NO.
Everything you have stated as a problem reflects that you ran a business model based on BREAKING THE RULES and you did it to benefit customers who only used you due to that fact.
If drivers would pull their heads out of their ##### they would realize that this new way of conducting business is going to change the industry for the better.
The only ones who will ultimately have a problem are those who thought they were slick, but really weren't. They were just breaking the rules.

 

I have been in this business for 30 years. and i have seen a lot of talk out there about what "we the truckers" should do and should get "them" to do. While I'll agree that yes we do have a great deal of power and COULD manage it, You can't get 5 truckers to agree and do anything together. So no, your not going to change the industry, Your not going to make the shippers or the receivers move faster because little old you said so. I'm sorry, but as an OO I'm competing with JBH, Swift, Schneider, ect. who can split the loads between 3 drivers. So yeah when i plan a load that according to the GPS will get me there in 9 hrs and give me 3 hrs to unload and another 45 mins to get to truck stop. tha'ts good planning. But if you have done this long enough you should know darn well that there are days, not always, but days where the planning goes out the window, because that 9 hr trip took 10.25 because of an accident. the receiver took almost 4 hrs to unload you, yeah i got my 2 hrs detention (yippee) and now i still have to drive that 30 mins to the truck stop.
So what are you going to do? Sit at his dock? start a argument that will result in the PD being called and you being told to move it or getting a ticket or towed? bottom line, they don't care and I'm sorry, but 1 truck is not going to change reality. The ELDs for companies that have problem drivers are a great thing, but for an OO or even a 3 trk fleet with a good history they are a pain in the rear and unnecessary. Just take a look at who pushed for the ELDs and that will tell you who wanted and why.