With the release of a new report showing that the use of an electronic logging device (ELD), or e-log, does not promote driver harassment, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) has drawn new battle lines in an old war.<\/p>\n
The New Rules<\/strong><\/p>\n On March 13, 2014 the FMCSA released proposed rule changes that would require all drivers of commercial motor vehicles who file a Record of Duty Status (RODS) to equip an ELD for tracking hours of service. This rule change would affect around 3.1 million trucks and 3.4 million drivers.<\/p>\n Some of the proposed changes included:<\/p>\n [wp_ad_camp_1]<\/p>\n Though the final rule won\u2019t be published until next year and full compliance is not required until 2017, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) immediately came out in opposition, citing a study the FMCSA itself had done in May.<\/p>\n In the study the FMCSA claimed a \u201cclear safety benefit\u201d to using electronic logs. The OOIDA countered with two charges:<\/p>\n It seemed after that initial dust-up, the debate quieted down, at least until this month when the FMCSA set out to address those concerns.<\/p>\n The New Report<\/strong><\/p>\n Released November 13, 2014 and entitled \u201cAttitudes of Truck Drivers and Carriers on the Use of Electronic Logging Devices,\u201d the new report concludes that driver harassment from ELD use is minimal. The FMCSA also attempted to address the prior study\u2019s sampling issue by interviewing over 600 truck drivers at 24 truck stops around the country.<\/p>\n The study found that:<\/p>\n With the release of this data, old battle lines have been redrawn and new voices are lending their weight to the issue. The OOIDA responded to the study by calling it \u201climited\u201d and that \u201caccording to the data, mandated ELDs could mean nearly 300,000 truck drivers would experience harassment issues on a regular basis.\u201d But could the OOIDA be isolated in its opposition?<\/p>\n As the final rule gets closer to its 2015 publishing, the American Trucking Association (ATA) and Trucking Alliance have come out saying that they agree<\/em> with the findings in the new study. Both groups are arguing that the use of ELDs could potentially decrease driver harassment, rather than increase it, as the OOIDA fears.<\/p>\n The Trucking Alliance also tried to point to other benefits of ELDs in saying that \u201cmandatory ELDs will help make truck drivers\u2019 jobs easier,\u201d and that \u201cpaper logbooks are prone to mistakes and are easily falsified to report fewer hours than the driver actually worked.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob Abbot, VP of safety policy for the ATA points out that these tools \u201cempower [drivers] to show that their carrier encouraged them to drive when tired or to break the rules.\u201d In this way ELDs can assist in vindicating drivers who are being pressured by carriers.<\/p>\n This is a complicated argument that has shifted alliances among the industry and regulators. The comment period is over and now everyone waits for the rule\u2019s final publication early next year. Is it possible to satisfy all parties or will new battle lines be drawn? Stay tuned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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