Would any of you use an ELD without being forced to?

The only reason for having HOS is to prevent fatigue driving. Fatigue cannot be measured. You have to feel and understand your body and stop driving when feeling sleepy and tired. The HOS need to be in place, because otherwise the companies would push drivers, regardless of their fatigue status, to run more. They, HOS, give the drivers a legitimate alibi to stop running, no matter what. On the other hand, the lazy drivers would find excuse not to run at all, preferring to play xbox or hanging out at truck stops. There will never be a perfect HOS system to suit everyone.
Before ELDs mandate, cheating it on paper was the only way to make it suitable for your own individual needs and limitations. Some don't need to sleep 8 hours or 10, some are ok to run over 800 miles a day without being fatigued and perfectly ok to continue to drive, some don't need the limit of 70 hours. Just like in sports, some people have better traits to perform and endure more than others.
The ELDs took away the possibility from those who want and can work more and by doing so, it reduced their potential productivity and earnings. The word "cheating" has a negative meaning in general but in relation to paper logs, it might only mean that a driver decided to adjust their work schedule better because he was not tired or got already rested and was good to advance further. By being able to cheat the drivers could perform according to their own individual limitations. I think it was better from classifying everyone as the same category which assumes that everyone gets tired by driving or working at the same rate.
So now look me typing this BS, at 7:15 am, in the sleeper, being awaken for an hour now, perfectly ok to drive. I still have to sit here and do some BS time wasting things for 2 more hours, and per HOS in the sleeper berth to finish my 8 or 4 hours to get the full 10. Waste of time. Waste of life.

 

No. Hell no.

 

That's not anywhere in the regs. According to the regs, if an activity takes less than 15 minutes, you're supposed to flag the location and note the time it took.

 

The m16 turned out to be more efficient in my case. Ha

 

Same here. Engines went electronic but I still want to use my test light for diagnosis. Who needs a computer?

 

The general reason for HOS is because when people have the option to make money or stop and rest, they choose to keep going. They think I'm not tired and keep going. This Wal-Mart driver killed a person thinking he was not tired after being awake for 28 hours. He was not driving for 28 hours but he was home in GA then drives like 450 miles to work at Walmart and gets in his Walmart truck and tried to work his normal driving shift.

Even with all the technology they can have on a truck it still show how some people just won't stop or admit they are tired. That's the reason for HOS and ELDs because people won't stop sometimes. Now it's more easy to find the people that refuse to stop. ELDs are not perfect and they can't stop every accident.

Walmart Driver in Tracy Morgan Crash Accepts Plea Deal

 

Question. Does your omni tracks use some kind of satellite tracking for ifta? My keller just reads the mileage off the ecm.

 

It's been longer than 5 years. I don't remember exactly when swift and cr England and all the other megas went to them, but if i had to guess it was close to ten years. Heck landstar started requiring them on their new contractors somewhere around 2010.