After a legal battle that trudged through several years of debate and technical challenges, the federal court finally released its regulation regarding mandated electronic truck and bus driver logging in December 2015. By the end of 2017, all truck drivers will have to comply with this federal mandate. Paper logs for truckers will be a thing of the past, replaced by electronic logging devices installed on all trucks.

 

Electronic logging devices to be installed on all trucks and buses will monitor the vehicles’ driving time, engine operating hours, movement, miles driven, and geographic location. Provisions are given in the mandate to protect this or any other information from being used to harass the drivers of these vehicles.

Why the Mandate is Important

The reasoning behind the law requiring the installation of these logging devices is that it should increase the compliance with laws regarding the allowed schedules for truck and bus drivers. The lawmakers hope to increase road safety by using this technology to verify that truck drivers are not driving more hours than are allowed by federal laws, laws put in place in hopes of preventing drivers from driving without adequate sleep. The mandate for electronic logging devices is expected to prevent 562 injuries and 26 deaths each year.

 

As long as truck drivers have been using paper logs, the exact hours worked by them has been virtually unverifiable. With the advent of electronic logging, however, employers and the government (when necessary) will be able to verify the hours worked by truck drivers.

 

While complying with the mandate will certainly cost companies money, the result should be financial savings. It is estimated that the electronic logging device mandate will save $1 billion. Most of these savings will come from the reduction in paperwork required by the industry.

 

Four Main Elements

The mandate requiring trucks and buses to have electronic logging devices has four main elements.

1. The mandate requires that truckers and bus drivers who currently keep their hours-of-service records in paper form adapt to electronic logging devices within two years.
2. The final rule on the electronic logging device mandate has several provisions ensuring drivers will not be harassed using information from the devices.
3. Technical specifications for the performance of the electronic logging devices and their design requirements were set. This allows manufacturers to begin making compliant devices and purchasers to begin researching to make smart decisions.
4. The rule requires the creation of new hours-of-service documents, such as shipping documents and fuel purchase receipts. The hopeful result of these new requirements is to reduce the amount of paperwork required of truck and bus drivers.

Hardware and Software to Comply With the Mandate

Even before the mandate requiring electronic logging devices was official, some trucking companies had already realized the benefits of having their truckers use electronic software to keep their logs. Programs installed on laptops have been used this way for years, and recently smartphone applications have been developed to allow truckers to submit their logs.

 

The federal mandate does allow for smartphones to count as electronic logging devices as long as they meet certain specifications. Therefore, many trucking companies may simply decide to require their drivers to use company smartphones as their logging devices and equip those phones with software allowing them to submit their logs. This would make complying with the mandate relatively simple.

 

Other electronic logging devices have some of the same functionality and will allow truckers to submit their logs electronically. Electronic logging devices with in-cab displays will provide the same level of technology, along with added tools.

Benefits of Electronic Logging

While the federal mandate requiring electronic logging devices was created mainly to increase road safety, there are benefits for trucking companies as well. The abilities to verify logs, track loads, and reduce errors, among others, led some companies to begin tracking their fleets long before the mandate to do so.

 

Some of the benefits trucking companies can expect to see as they install and adapt to the use of electronic logging devices include:

• Improved communication: Electronic logging devices allow drivers and dispatchers to communicate with each other more efficiently. Dispatchers are able to see drivers’ locations and find them work in their vicinity.
• More data for research: Fleet managers and trucking companies will have access to far greater amounts of accurate information on truck and driver performance than ever before. They can use this information to conduct research into methods of improving performance, increasing efficiency, and making larger profits.
• Easy documentation storage: Drivers won’t have to worry about keeping as many paper records with them on hauls any more. Electronic documents will take place of physical ones, making keeping track of these records much easier.
• Save time: Electronic documents are also easier for drivers to create and update, reducing the amount of time they will spend on paperwork.
• Reduce errors: The software allowing the creation of electronic logs can also be programmed to detect common errors and alert users to them. Drivers should have far fewer log violations when using electronic logging devices.

 

When truck and bus drivers are complying with this federal mandate, the populace can expect safer roads and the trucking companies should save money and time. There should be little trouble in adapting to the new devices and regulations, and the results will be beneficial for everyone.