Truck drivers have a certain amount of time they are allowed to be behind the wheel. With the ELD mandate in effect the problems with ELDs are their enforcement of Hours of Service laws.
Kevin is making good time and has one stop left before he can head home to his family. He's headed South on I-75 and completely forgot about Hurricane Dorian headed inland. As it goes, the interstate turns into a parking lot.
Kevin is losing drive time. This is one of the problems drivers blame on ELD. Thankfully, the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has amended rules and regulations surrounding how to claim adverse conditions.
Dave was recently pulled over by an officer with the Department of Transportation (DOT). After the officer completed his inspection, Dave noticed the data on his inspection report was different than the paper version.
Dave at first thought this was one of the problems with ELDs. What stuck out the most is he saw his Hours of Service were recorded accurately on his ELD, but on the report it says Dave violated his HOS by not taking a 30-minute break... The officer was enforcing a rule that has since been changed.
Thankfully, Dave keeps documentation of everything and can easily refute the violation and submit it supporting data.
Carriers have a tough job seeing freight makes it to destination without incident. Getting loaded at the shipper is one stop along the way that should be seamless. So what happens when a driver knows they have been overloaded by the shipper and there's an attempt to get the driver on the road anyway?
It's one of those situations: you've been driving hundreds of miles, you haven't had a chance to stop to eat, and an officer with the Department of Transportation has just handed you a citation for being overloaded.
With the trucking industry projected to grow through the rest of the decade1, so will the need for secure and easy ways to manage them.