ELD IS GOING AWAY !!!!!

Dave Im not sure if you saw it yet in Arizona, there are more and more people being forced into medical checks they don't have the time or money for because they are naturally beefy people without being obese in that sense of the word.

There are people who can and do wear 300-350 without being obese. Big ones. Makes my head hurt if I ever have to fight a fridge like that. I wont win.

 

I think your anger and fear is misdirected.

The ELDs aren't the problem, the HOS rules are the problem.

Other than the cost for the technology, ELDs do not reduce the number of miles you can legally drive, or reduce the amount of money you can legally make.
In fact, they save time compared to paper logs.

Now, the issue is that people are used to falsifying their logs, and that is harder to do with ELDs, at least in some ways.

I guess it is like speeding. Some are comfortable at 4 over, some at 7 over, some at 10,and some as fast as they can go.
Some drivers are comfortable fudging by 20 minutes to make it to a truck stop or to the customer or home, others will run 2 logbooks.

But it comes down to the HOS, and if we used this to begin working towards a better HOS rule, instead of focusing on the method it is kept track of, we might be able to actually improve things.

With so many people cheating on the rules, the issues with the rules are less apparent, but if everyone has to follow the rules, then it makes the flaws more obvious.

Oh, and I see no way that some form of ELD won't become mandatory. And if this current version does get quashed, except to see all new trucks be required to have a built-in ELD, maybe with Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone or something, plus a dashboard interface. It would be so simple to add it to the modern truck computers, and would be easy to mandate, tied in to the collision avoidance systems and the inter-truck communications systems they are already moving towards.
So basically, any victory on the ELD mandate will only be a brief reprieve, and may end up with something even worse,because I guarantee you that as we get more and more advanced technologies, there is no way that they are going to let us drive around with no computers to monitor and store and communicate.

You win on the current ELDs, and just watch, the next version will be tied into the Prepass system, so that every scale you drive past will be able to see your logs... (technologically, this is a piece of cake, just add an antenna to the ELD computer, and adjust the software on the truck and the scale systems)

Or, they expand the network of roadside scanners that read the license or DOT number, and keep track that way. With the existing wireless communication infrastructure, and the rapidly decreasing size and cost of the technology to scan the numbers, this is getting pretty easy and cheap, if they wanted to drop one at each major intersection or offramp.
Then have some mobile units they park outside shippers and trucking company lots for sting operations, and you won't be safe in fudging your books anyway.

Pick your battles, because they will find ways to enforce the rules, so work on getting the rules better.

Oh, and learn how to plan your trips better, so you can avoid most of the minor issues... Lol

 

People tend to fear change. Particularly if they don't know exactly what the change is going to involve. It is just human nature.

Well, as long as you are fighting it, you haven't lost the battle. It may be lucky if you can stay even, and chances of winning that battle depend entirely on how motivated you are.
(Would someone please motivate ME?)

 

I proposed paying all of my drivers by the hour two years ago, they all cried, starting tom, ALL of our trucks will be on paid by hour basis, no exceptions, I am tired of a driver worrying more about how many miles can he get in a day vs worrying about doing the job correctly, I have no issue paying a man for fueling, trip planning, cargo securement and customer relations, and driving.

 

I was respecting "their" opinion and the promise that things would get better, in my opinion, they haven't hence the change. Yes, all trucks and trailers are company owed.

 

Yes, one or two said they would try it, others were afraid it would cost them money? In other words, they were afraid of change.

 

Not all drivers want to be paid hourly. I've always preferred percentage based pay myself. More I do DURING my shift, the more I earn. No need to work longer hours and give up more of my time if I can be more productive during my normal hours. No disincentive for finishing up my assigned work early, either, as I get paid for what I did NOT for how long it took to complete.

 

I can see that PB, BUT, we are in auto haul and if I would have been paying these guys load percentage for the last year they would have been making 50% less! That is where our rates have gone.