ELDS: AN UPDATE

Some of you may remember my thoughts on the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate and how it could impact the transportation industry. Almost a year out and the mandate still stands; ELDs must be in place by Dec. 2017. However, at least one more court challenge is anticipated and it is uncertain how the incoming administration will view this mandate. The next administration has expressed concern over regulations that impose burdens on small business, and worry the expense of the ELDs will fall to the independent driver. Many drivers are stating they will sell their rigs and leave the industry.

Kingsgate is concerned about any impact on truck capacity as it directly impacts rates for our customers.

ELDs have been disputed for half a decade. This is not the first time the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) has tried to force ELD implementation on carriers and drivers. There are two other major incidents in which the ELD mandate has been brought to court:

• In 2011 Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) brought the previous ELD mandate to court and managed to get it overturned.
• In 2012, another ELD mandate was brought to court and tossed out because it failed to protect drivers against harassment from dispatchers and customers, causing concerns that drivers would be forced into exceeding hours-of-service and interrupt their rest periods.

The main concerns from those opposed to the ELD mandate are around driver privacy and driver fatigue, as they may feel pressured to continue on the road when they feel unable to drive. This pressure could come from the harassment described above because dispatchers can see in real-time how many available hours drivers have on any run. With the new hours-of-service regulations, drivers believe FMSCA is unfairly targeting them.

Conversely, the FMCSA believes that using ELDs could save an average of 26 lives and prevent 562 injuries resulting from crashes involving commercial motor vehicles annually.

In these matters, Kingsgate will always support anything that ensures the safety of the driver and others on the road. We speak to our dispatch and broker teams frequently about making sure we communicate with our carriers to ensure that our top priorities are security for the driver, our customers’ load, and the community. That being said, we believe the FMCSA must adequately address the concerns put forth by the OOIDA, and come to a solution that both respects drivers’ privacy concerns, and increases safety on the road.

All the Best,

Jeff Beckham