Switching to Electronic Logging Devices

Originally published by Texas Attorney.

Federal law requires that all truck drivers maintain up to date logbooks of their time spent behind the wheel, on duty, and asleep. These log books are reviewed by transportation authorities as well as the driver’s trucking company to dually ensure that the driver is following Hours of Service regulations designed to prevent fatigued driving. The obvious issue is that loose leaf notebooks and binders make it incredibly easy for drivers or trucking companies to falsify these log books and it happens all the time. It is somewhat of an open secret in the trucking industry that some drivers carry two log books, one that is accurate to their actual movement that they keep in the back of the rig, and one with inaccurate information that they keep in the door to give to authorities. Even worse, some companies encourage or even order their drivers to do this. But the days of the falsified log book may soon be over thanks to the advent of the electronic logging device.

What is an electronic logging device? 

When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced its plan to push regulation making electronic logging devices mandatory by 2018 this question was asked a lot. An electronic logging device plugs directly into the trucks engine electronic control module. This means that the device tracks every time the truck is on, when it is moving and the speed the vehicle is traveling as well as course corrections and breaking. Additionally these devices are linked to a GPS tracking allow the authorities and trucking companies to track the trucks movements with pinpoint accuracy in real time. 

 

What are the benefits?

This system is advantageous to truckers, their companies, and the public as a whole. The most obvious benefit is that electronic recording and tracking makes log falsification nearly impossible, thus preventing fatigued driving and making the roads instantly safer. A trucker driving outside of hours of service regulations can no longer lie about their location or time in the cab as it is all tracked to an electronic database. But this accuracy also benefits truckers, they no longer have to rely on a handwritten log sheet and their own words in disputes with their company over compensation and time driven, they now have an airtight record of exactly what they have done. They also no longer have to take the time to sit down and fill out a log by hand, an electronic logging device does every bit of it for them. The interface of many DOT approved electronic log systems are very easy to use, and they also come with apps for iPhone, Android, and iPad. These approved apps mean that if stopped a driver can hand authorities an iPad with up to the minute log information instead of a handwritten binder. Electronic logs are updated in real-time to the trucking company making log sheets very easy to keep a record of and audit. Installing an approved electronic logging device on an 18-wheeler would cost between $200-$600 per vehicle. The FMCSA has estimated that the crack down on distracted driving due to the implementation of electronic logging devices would save at least 50 lives per year. 

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