Electronic tracking has been required on semi-trucks for 5 years. Fatalities haven't decreased.

Yes it is, as you are about to explain below.

...which required flexibility on the part of the driver, a flexibility which we used to have under paper logs but no longer have under ELDs.

 

Technically there wasn’t any flexibility with paper logs either, we all just lied and made things work.

As far as the 30 minute break wasting part of the day that’s on OOIDA not the federal government. As far as I’m concerned that’s their second largest blunder right behind challenging the first ELD rule that would’ve only required them for companies with repeated HOS violations.

 

The reason these rules were there in the first place were to limit the abuse drivers were facing. These rules were also into place at a time when truck were from the depot to the its final destination, the across country transport was very rarely a truck, it was always rail.

Rail dominated and it was until the serious decline of it in the 60's did OTR actually increase, now it is a a predominate means of moving freight.

I am already seeing some customers who have rail access investigating using rail to replace a dozen trucks they need, seeing it as a cost effective means to move their product in the supply chain.

I agree with this, we lack a serious training system that is uniformed across the industry as much as we lack being recognized as a skilled trades.

 

Well, that's one piece of the puzzle. Another piece is mileage pay. You'd cruise at a safe speed until you found a safe haven on hourly.

 

As others have said, HOS and ELD were created to protect drivers from abusive companies. The problem is that those companies were given input on what the rules would be. That would be like letting an abusive spouse help draft the terms of a restraining order against them.

 

If they went hourly, I would retire tomorrow. I will NEVER run OTR as an hourly driver.

 

That's wild to me. I'll never drive any way OTHER than hourly again.

 

That's funny... backwards but funny.. The scenario is that perp beats up spouse... spouse calls the cops, cops shows up. perp wants to fight, cops beat the cr@p out of perp and stuff them in the car... within seconds.. spouse is beside the car crying telling the perp that they'll be right down to bail them out... The cops are the DOT/FMCSR.. the perp is the trucking companies.. the spouse is of course the truck driver. The love the abuse, they love the attention and they will kill themselves to protect the perp from ANY blowback from abusing them...

 

In that scenario, the driver is one of those special breed that think trickle down works, but they're simultaneously lucky just to HAVE a job. Lol

 

Sadly, that is often the case. Not always, but a lot.

As a side note, any "solution" that doesn't guarantee company drivers at least the Federal Minimum Wage for every hour on a truck is doomed to failure. I'm not saying that's all a driver should get, but it should be the minimum. So long as drivers have to chase their wages, there will always be some who take too many risks.