How do the stay in business?!?

You forgot number 3. The groups with voting power. Mothers Against Tired Truckers, AAA, the retirement group(forget their name at the moment) and a dozen other groups that see trucks as ticking time bombs and truck drivers as pill popping maniacs driving over loaded and over speed. Trucking has a HUGE image problem with the general public. And right or wrong, they believe eobrs will make for safer highways. Politicians listen to those with the most votes.

Personally, I can't wait for them. I predict my income will dramatically increase. Short runs that has to be there no matter what pay petty good now, will only pay better when everyone has to run legal. Sure is going to be tough to adjust tho. I'm used to stopping for an hour nap when I get drowsy.

 

Your group #3 are slurping up the emotional appeal dished out by the first two, and really don't have a financial stake.

Personally I'm indifferent about EOBR. The only thing preventing me from doing it right now is cost and change. When I am forced to purchase a service like EOBR via the armed force of government, I'll do so and pass the costs to my customers like I do with everything else. Until then, I'll continue using the less costly, still compliant system I'm already using.

 

I didn't say they were right, but I do believe they think they are. They truly believe eobr will make the roads safer. And they have the votes, and that is the only thing that matters to the guys in dc.

 

I don't think eobr's will have much impact on rates. There are plenty of companies using them. Others have paper logs that are checked against satelite location records (qualcom). And then there are those drivers on this very web site who talk about getting good rates , so they don't need to run big miles to make a good paycheck. Additionally, I have met many drivers who are simply unwilling to drive more than about 2500 miles/week now, and they can do that with eobr's . So their productivity won't be impacted. And the implimentation of eobr will take place over a few years , so there will be plenty of time for capacity to increase , if needed.

 

Thats what I was trying to explain earlier, the Mega Carriers are already cheating their way around this system, is it fair, is it right? No, but that's what's happening. We all know putting down personal conveyance positioning yourself closer to your load or delivery should show up in an audit, but this is what's happening and they are apparently getting away with it. I know this from inside guys at a particular 4500 truck company. They won't tell the drivers to do shady stuff over the Qualcomm or text message but will over the cell phone. Either way you look at it this is already happening and it will entirely up to dot enforcement to discover it if they do at all
In essence the EOBR might be another advantage for the Mega's over the smaller company's as the small guys might be more lightly to get caught. I don't think they are going to help level the playing field as we hoped it would.

 

The problem with the EOBR comes into focus when examined through the lens of the HOS rules. 11 hours to drive within a 14 hour window sounds like a lot in theory, problem is, it's unobtainable in practice with these HOS rules. The vast majority of interstate in this country lacks sufficient parking adjacent to it. With everybody working on a 14 hour clock, they are all getting up and working, for the most part, on the same schedule. This creates a game of musical chairs in regards to available parking. Try to find a parking spot at 2200 these days..... practically speaking, there just isn't anywhere to park at the 11th hour, and so, 11 hours of driving isn't what you get to do. Rather, 8-9 hours is what you get, with the next two to three hours spent trying to locate a parking spot for the night...A lot of drivers are trying to overcome the 14 hour window by parking at the shippers and receivers, thereby delaying the 14 hour start time. So nothing changed there, the new rule just creates a set of hoops to jump through. I believe the 11 hours of driving was implemented because the lawmakers realized that there is no magic parking spot when the final hour of driving elapsed, they figured that in practical terms 10 hours would be the number of hours driven, with the 11th hour spent locating a parking spot. Combine the three rules, 30 min mandatory break within 8 hours of driving, 11 hours within a 14 hour window= 8-9 hours of actual driving on a daytime schedule....

That pack of frustrated drivers screaming around in desperation looking to maximize their productivity isn't imagined, it's real. It's a game of musical chairs. When the music starts in the morning, the participants leave their parking spots and go driving around. At the 14 hour mark, when the music stops, the losers are those who cannot find a place to park....The EOBR is the electronic referee, automatically recording, and saving, any and all infractions during an 8 day period...it's a revenue enhancement tool....

HOS rules don't make drivers safe, people, (drivers), who know their limitations and who act/drive responsibly is what creates a safe environment.

The EOBR is a revenue tool, it can be interfaced with the DOT weigh station, just like a Prepass, and read by the scale operators.....it will automatically flag violators, taking the guesswork out of enforcement and making random logbook inspections unnecessary.

5min over on your 8, or 11, or 14?

Come on in here and receive your citation.

What's going to happen to productivity??

It will decline, with capacity diminishing as a result.

It will create a subgroup of operators who will focus on late pu, JIT, next day deliveries.

Short to mid mile, overnight, high revenue freight.

 

Maybe in some cases.
The company I'm using as an example's drivers were in most cases doing average 4000 miles per week, some drivers more some less. That was before EOBR,s. Nothing mileage wise has changed with the implementation of EOBR's, sure it slowed them up a little at the start but the company just figured out how to use certain exemption & exceptions into the equation. This type of fudging has always been practiced but now to a much greater extent.
The one thing you got to remember is the drivers, L/O & company alike are on board with this as they want as many miles as possible and especially in the L/O situation, he is taking the risk and brunt of any fines as he is the one that signed an industry STANDARD contract with all Mega Carriers stating he will run the truck (his business operation) within the confines of the law and indemnify the Mega Carrier.
This is why I believe nothing in this industry will change until there is no such thing as a L/O, and company drivers are paid hourly, per diem, along with full benefits as they are in any other industry.

 

Now that I think about it..... adaptation......

You will see the industry adapt.

Business models, remember?

The megas will run two fleets.

Dedicated daytime, and dedicated night time.

Someone gets delayed at the shipper during a daytime pu?. We just arrange a s/o with a dedicated night time fleet driver....

 

Isn't that what Roadway and Yellow did?