Shipping and Logistics
December 14, 2017
Truck Fleets Face ELD Deadline on Monday
Written by Tim Triplett
In theory, the nation’s highways should be safer come Monday. Dec. 18 is the deadline for trucking companies to equip their vehicles with electronic logging devices. The ELDs are meant to reduce fatigue-related accidents by preventing drivers from fudging their time behind the wheel in violation of hours-of-service restrictions. As a practical matter, there will still be many trucks whose owners have not yet complied. Requiring the devices will also worsen the shortage of available drivers, however, and could lead to more inexperienced new-hires on the road.
Federal data shows that improving compliance with hours-of-service rules improves highway safety. Use of ELDs has been shown to reduce hours-of-service violations by 50 percent, compared to users of paper logs, in turn reducing the truck crash rate by 11.7 percent, contends the American Trucking Associations, the trucking industry trade group. “ATA is a strong defender of the electronic logging device final rule,” said Collin Stewart, president of Stewart Transport, Inc., on behalf of the ATA. “As a committed advocate for the safe and efficient transportation of freight over America’s highways, ATA believes ELDs will improve safety by ensuring strict compliance with hours-of-service requirements.”
