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ELD’S WILL IMPROVE SAFETY ON OUR HIGHWAYS

ELD’s are electronic logging devices for truck drivers to use to log their hours of operation and mileage. Congress mandated ELDs in 2012, as part of Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (MAP-21).  Wall Huntington is very familiar with these new laws. The mandate began on December 19, 2017

Reducing Large Truck Crashes

Operating commercial trucks on US highways carry with it a moral and ethical responsibility to the public that the drivers are well rested, drug and alcohol-free and well trained.” The use of ELDs will verify that drivers are obeying the law and not exceeding their hours behind the wheel.

Truck driver fatigue is a factor in large truck crashes. According to the US Department of Transportation, in 2015, there were 400,000 large truck accidents that caused 115,000 injuries, and more than 4,200 deaths. Williams added that who is at fault in those truck crashes should not be the issue, but equipping professional truck drivers with ELDs and other safety technologies to avoid those accidents should be the priority. “ELD’s will be a significant tool in reducing truck driver fatigue and many accidents,

Opponents of the ELD mandate have objected to the federal government utilizing ELDs, contending they will intrude on their daily activities. Wall Huntington disagree. Operating an 80,000-pound commercial semi-truck on a public roadway is not some entitlement to do as you please, but a privilege, and that requires sharing the road with millions of motorists. ELDs will hold everyone in our industry accountable and assure the public that commercial drivers respect our federal laws.

Improving the Supply Chain and Hours-of-Service Rules

The data gathered from these electronic devices will also improve the nation’s supply chain. The ELD data collected from 3 million truck drivers will enable every aspect of the supply chain – shippers, receivers, freight forwarders, brokers, and the other transportation modes, to improve their own efficiencies, rather than forcing truck drivers to wait long hours to load and unload and then falsify their paper log books to make it all work.

ELD data should also allow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to evaluate practical common sense modifications to the current hours-of-service rules and this  “real world evidence” will be the best gauge in how to regulate the on-duty and driving time for truck drivers. Wall Huntington believes we finally have the information needed to improve the quality of the driving experience for commercial truck drivers.