5 Reason the ELD Mandate is Good for Drivers

There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the recently enforced ELD (Electronic Logging Device) Mandate as of April 1st, 2018. This mandate/regulation has been fought, delayed, pushed back, rescheduled, and basically ignored until just recently. Now that it is finally ‘official’, most carriers (and yes, even owner/operators) have begrudgingly followed suit in implementing electronic logging devices in all units. The real question, however, is should this have been put off for as long as it was? Was the implementation of ELD’s worth the fighting and hassling that ensued for months, even years? Honestly, I don’t think so. Here’s 5 reasons why the ELD Mandate is Good for Drivers:

Driver Coercion

When trying to think of five reasons the ELD mandate is good, this was for some reason the first thing that came to my mind. Maybe it’s because of the new safety training video we’ve been using for new drivers as of late (which mentions coercion) or maybe it’s because of stories that I hear when speaking to potential drivers looking to leave their current employer. Either way you slice it, driver coercion on the part of the employer remains a serious problem in the industry even with ELD’s being implemented. However, now that ELD’s are standard it becomes much more difficult for companies to ‘fudge’ logs and/or force drivers to drive illegally or while unsafe. 

Save the Tree's!

This one is a two-parter. Firstly (and less obvious), there will be a significantly lower amount of waste due to the use of paper logs daily. That aside, let’s get to how this helps the driver: way less thinking! ELD’s essentially do most of the logging for the driver. I have spoken to various drivers with years of driving experience from the 80’s/90’s that we very resistant to learning electronic logs. “It’s a waste of time!” or “Paper is so much easier!” were two of the usual responses. However, much to their disbelief, after about two weeks of utilizing electronic logs almost everyone tends to agree that the overall process is easier. Things like company info, truck info, drive time, and calculating when your next break is, are all taken care of for you. This allows the professional driver to focus on doing his or her job as safely and efficiently as possible.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

The third reason may not be so obvious to many drivers, especially if they have trouble with the first reason previously mentioned. Any good professional Class-A driver that works with a good professional dispatcher knows that their dispatcher is the one that will always have their back when they’re in a bind. With electronic logs, the company and all its dispatchers have full view of a drivers HOS (Hours of Service) and their current duty status. This allows dispatchers to be much more proactive in assisting the driver with things like where/when to get their 30-minute break in, how to avoid traffic, and if it’s appropriate to use more advanced logging techniques such as a split break. ELD’s force drivers and dispatchers to work together as a team instead of the driver just being expected to ‘report’ to their dispatcher when required. Everyone on the road is safer when happy drivers are working with happy dispatchers! 

Coming Soon; Maintenance

Many drivers might not exactly attribute ELD’s to helping them with maintenance while out on the road. In fact, submitting a daily DVIR is certainly a pain when your company is not regularly keeping up with the maintenance and safety of their vehicles. However, there are many ELD’s that are currently being utilized by companies like Penske, Zonar, and many other large firms that monitor the OBD (on-board diagnostics) of vehicles to proactively diagnose problems before they happen. Any driver familiar with the ‘yellow engine light of no return’ knows that, unfortunately, this is a common occurrence in even the newest of vehicles (and I’m sure electric trucks will be no different). Being able to get immediate feedback regarding the exact fault code and/or be able to remotely fix/remove the code will do wonders for giving drivers peace of mind while driving their equipment thousands of miles from their home. A truck in working order being driven by a driver that has peace of mind is just about as safe as you can get!

Shippers & Receivers

This is a topic that I could go on-and-on about. Quite honestly, this topic probably deserves its own blog post (*hint, hint**wink, wink**nudge, nudge*). If you take the drivers pay out of the equation (also a discussion for another time), ELD’s only put stress on the manufacturer, shipper, receiver, dispatcher, and trucking company (carrier). Ever since the first trucking shipment was delivered, I’m sure there was some sort of disagreement between the driver/customer/trucking company. Whether it’s not being unloaded immediately, missing a scheduled drop time, or the warehouse workers deciding to take their break in the middle of unloading the truck, everyone seems to have little concern for the drivers HOS. ELD’s make all parties involved more aware of HOS and, if the FMCSA continues to enforce these regulations as they should, should enact significant change in the procedures of shippers, receivers, and warehouses. 

Bonus: Safety - What piece of writing about the transportation industry would be complete without mentioning safety!? As usual, safety is probably a good guess as to the #1 reason why ELD’s are good for driver’s. I do not mention it specifically in this piece of writing simply because it is an overarching benefit to ELD’s. If you look closely, four out of five of the above benefits mention safety within them already. Most every technology created for the trucking industry in the last 20 years has been created to improve the safety of everyone involved. As the trucking industry continues to delve deeper into the many technologies that it has at its fingertips, it will gradually become a safer and more accountable industry. 

If you are a company looking for assistance with ELD’s, their implementation, regulations surrounding them, or driver training, please reach out and call Truckers America at: 877-789-5778 ext. 508. We would be happy to speak further about this and many of the other newly created regulations regarding new technology in the transportation industry!

For more information on ELD's and other trucking topics, please visit: www.truckersamerica.com.