Is Trucking Ready for ELD
The ELD mandate goes into effect on December 18 south of the border and several disturbing news stories say 25% of carriers still aren’t ELD compliant. This is a dramatic improvement from early November when CarrierLists found that far less than half of the fleets it surveyed were ELD ready. A poll conducted by PrePass provider, Help Inc, found that “of those who have not installed an ELD, 68% do not plan to do so prior to the December 18 deadline.”
The Effects of ELD’s
The fact that less than half of the trucking industry was ready for such an operational change as ELD’s present, 6 weeks out, is concerning. ELD’s present challenges and advantages. We’ve been testing and implementing ELD’s in our fleet for over 2 years in preparation for the mandate. We’ve been full ELD compliant fleetwide since March of this year. And it’s been a big change!
ELD’s are more than just an Elog that the driver needs to be trained to use. The driver training is one part and it’s a big part. Not only do drivers need to be able to use the device every day, they need to change habits, and in some cases, trip planning. There’s no more fudging on the edges, to put it mildly. This device is something drivers will interact with multiple times a day and takes time to get used to and mistakes do get made.
There are also changes in operations. This is where the ELD will be an advantage or a disadvantage for a fleet. Dispatch and operations can plan better as they can see HOS availability of each driver. Better utilization is beneficial to both company and drivers. But implementing and using this information effectively is a process and has a learning curve.
Our safety department is more efficient and can see real violations in real time. This allows John and Ken to see common problems our drivers are having or common misunderstandings (of ELD’s or HOS). Our safety department has been able to work with drivers far more productively to the benefit of everyone.
Implementing ELD
The fleetwide implementation of ELD’s is exactly like any other technology change that the trucking industry has undergone. There’s a learning curve with hiccups and bumps. We’ve spent 2 years readying our fleet for this change.
December 18 will come and go as any other day for us because of the hard work and dedication of our drivers and our team. Becoming compliant with the ELD mandate hasn’t been easy. Our drivers have been professionals and have learned to adapt to the change. We’d like to thank them for working hard and making the changes that needed to be made. Great Job!
Here are some more useful articles:
Tips for Using Electronic Logging Device (ELD)
