Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Anne Ferro said she expects a rule mandating the use of electronic onboard recorders to be proposed by September of this year.
Ferro and other Department of Transportation administrators testified Thursday, March 14, at a hearing held by the House transportation committee’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee, where they were asked to update subcommittee members on progress on initiatives and rules required by 2012′s MAP-21 highway funding law.
MAP-21 requires FMCSA to implement an electronic log mandate by the end of the law’s 27-month life.
As a follow up to Ferro’s testimony Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Ore.) — the subcommittee’s chairman — questioned the rigidity of a “one size fits all” EOBR rule that doesn’t offer flexibility for individual situations. Ferro said she and the agency have taken that into account, and a uniform electronic logging rule “is a very strong one as it pertains to safety and ensuring everyone’s operating on a level playing field.”
Most companies that switch to electronic logs switch “very effectively and very profitably,” Ferro said. ”They’re finding it’s a very, very efficient mechanism” for tracking on-duty status. “And over time, sometimes almost immediately, drivers prefer it as well.”
Ferro said four factors comprise the rule: Technical specifications used for EOBR devices, ensuring drivers are not harassed, ensuring any support documents and paperwork are reduced and streamlined and the EOBR requirement itself.
Changing topics slightly, subcommittee ranking member Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) questioned directly after Petri the impact of detention time on hours-of-service and what FMCSA planned to do to compensate.
Ferro said the agency is currently studying detention time, and results are expected to be had by 2015. She also said provisions in MAP-21 allow the agency to “take action” against a shipper or receiver that coerces a driver to operate outside of their hours-of-service requirements either by economic leverage or even physical harm.
Later in the hearing, Rep. Markwayne Mullen (R-Okla.) pressed Ferro on why the agency denied the American Trucking Associations’ request to delay the effective date of the upcoming hours-of-service (July 1). Mullen said that FMCSA itself estimates the industry will share a $300 million cost on training and implementing the rule.
ATA had asked FMCSA to delay the rule’s implementation until a court case between the two — and pertaining to the hours rule — had been completed, so that fleets know what exactly they should be training employees how to do.
Ferro said that the agency had denied ATA’s request because it centered around the court case — a hearing for which is set to take place March 15 — rather than the rule itself, which was issued 15 months ago.
Mullen took exception to FMCSA’s response to ATA, in which the agency said ATA had not “demonstrated good cause to delay” the effective date. “What is $300 million?” Mullen said .”I’m a small business owner, and the only reason I sit in front of you is because I got frustrated with things just like that. It seems very simple — Why can’t we just get an extension.”
Ferro said that the rule is about safety, and she’s confident it will be upheld in court. “At the core of this rule is safety on our highways, for all of the people who travel in a truck or in a bus and those in or around those vehicles.”
Per MAP-21, the agency is also working on establishing a drug and alcohol clearinghouse that will provide fleets pre-employment information on driver applicants about prior drug and alcohol tests and test refusals. “So they can thereby avoid hiring someone not qualified to operate a commercial vehicle,” Ferro said.
A proposed clearinghouse rule is expected this spring.
Also in the works is research pertaining to 34-hour restart provisions, examining insurance minimums and “assessing crash rates under new agricultural exemptions” that went live today, Ferro said.
Victor Mendez, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, updated the subcommittee on the required study on truck size and weight limits.
FHWA, per MAP-21, is studying the impact of increasing allowable truck weight to 97,000 pounds on six-axle configurations. Also included in the study are looks at “longer combination vehicles.”
“We will provide a data driven, objective analysis looking at issues that have to be balanced,” Mendez said. “Like highway safety, the impact on infrastructure, transportation of goods throughout our nation in a safe manner — how that plays out economically in vehicle configuration.”
Mendez said FHWA will be hiring a consultant to help with the study and taking input from all stakeholders.
Can anyone not see what is happening here. This whole new chain of events is spelled out in this months edition of "THE TRUCKER." I`m not sure if the big companies are in on all this and it seems that they aren`t as they are trying to get the new HOS postponed and trying to get the new "restart" stopped.
The new restart will "under the guise of safety" quote "reduce fatigue, resulting in an average of 12 hours reduction in driving time weekly."
Further down it states this will result in creating 16,600 new jobs mostly in the trucking industry <<"quote"
It`s apparant that this Government wants to put even more unqualified drivers on the road and reduce our hours even more which reduces our wages even more. So, my question is what are these big companies gonna get from this and why are they even playing along.
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Likelog doc.....Pull the pre loaded trailers, the relay drivers the fuel surcharge from gov from the big cos. and see what they say....90% us are small owners and if this goes the way they want they know we are dead in the water,,,,,,
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Likebigred713
Yo - BR713. Normally I don't chime in on blogs, particularly a reply to a rant. But since I'm researching for an upcoming fleet insurance agency seminar where we've been asked to present on CSA and telematics, I can't resist rebutting your numbers. First of all, although I've yard jockey'd many a CMV in my career, I've never been OTR so admittedly, I cannot feel your pain in that area.
On the other hand, I've been in the business for 30 years, interviewed, road with and supervised hundreds (thousands at this point??) of drivers. Inevitably the 80%-20% rule always prevails - call it the "Teddy Roosevelt" rule if you will. 80% of the safety rules and regs are made up to keep the 20% non-compliant drivers in line, and the rest of us have to live with it. And before you dive into the "common sense" argument, please understand that, of the 5 senses, common is the least.
Firstly - ATRI studies are showing a distinct correlation between HOS Compliance BASIC (fka "Fatigue") and a propensity for increased likelihood of collision. Tired drivers are more likely to have collisions (I know, it's not rocket science).
Secondly - your numbers are Zvengali smoke and mirror, slight of hand. O.K. 72 hours divided by 24 hours = "3 days without pay". Excuse me, but you're assuming you drive 3 days consecutivley (24 hours x 3) without a rest break. In my opinion, that is not safe, and you will have a collision, and that should not be allowed.
Thirdly - if we do use your "formula", let's take the legal driving limit of 11 hours, multiply it times 7 days and - voila - you can drive 77 hours! (not allowed - you can only drive 70 in 8 consecutive days). But even if this were the case and you drove 77 hours, that's almost twice as many hours as the "legal" work-week which I believe is 40 hours, before OT - no?
Fourthly - this is all nonsense. If you've been in business as long as you purporte to have been, you'd know that all these numbers are bogus and fictitious. You can bend them to whatever fashion so desired. The only numbers that really matter are #1) can you drive the next mile safely and #2) what are you doing to prevent the next colliision? No one (except presumably your family, as long as you don't bore them with long diatribes) cares how hard you work for a living. So please, give all of us other working Joe's a break my friend - we all want to work less and earn more. You are preaching to the choir.
My suggestion to you is to either find a driving position that pays by the hour so you don't have to drive like a maniac to "keep on earning money by the mile" - or get out of the profession entirely and lower your blood pressure. Sorry to be so frank, but my friend, but as you so aptly have exhibited, we are all entitled to our opinion.
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Liketvesafety bigred713 It`s funny how "safety" people think just because we comment that we are not in compliance,,,,History as of late>>BP 132 over 62 and I`m 58 years old. Married and kids are on their own and i have grandkids. Living arrangements, My wife and i own 30 acres of pretty ridge farm in a very small community and i turkey hunt and deer hunt when I`m in the mood. Working, I run a trip to Ca. pick up a return(contracts) and then i take from 7 to 10 days off and do the deal again.....My semi and my trailer are paid in full and although i do have my own authority i am not LLC. I do not lease so all the expense and profit are mine. I keep my equipment in top shape as the shop that does my work on my truck is 3 miles from my house and labor cost is 50 bucks an hour. I drop it there when i come home. My wife is retired and travls on small vacations with me now. We see the US together and spend time in some "hotspots" we havent seen and some we enjoy best. You see i don`t need to be non compliant sir, I am watching a part of my America being taken over by ruthless big company tactics,(oil for one) Low paying companies that would rather spend their money on lobbyists now in congress than pay their employees what they are worth. Cut throat big companies low balling each other on freight so they cannot afford to pay a good wage and last but not least,,,,Safety co-ordinators like yourself that actaully think these new changes are safe(maybe you know they aren`t) as anyone being forced to get up at 6 am and drive a truck til 8 pm at night isn`t dog tired.
You can blow the smoke up the new guys butts but with the way they are dropping out of the industry in just a few short weeks they apparantly aren`t buying this "safe" ideal either. I come back to the word flexibility again,,,,,,This job isn`t a job that fares well with drivers being pushed. Oh, you can say we don`t do this but the first one that lays down a couple times when he gets tired and misses a drop will be history and you know this. I just talked to two drivers of a big company that were both fined 500 bucks for rescheduling a drop at a very large company in Ca. the other day. It was the large company receiving that fined this company and you can bet this didn`t go well with them.
Have a good day sir, I will, as I`m "SEMI RETIRED" and I don`t have to run illegal to enjoy my life and pay my bills.
LOL, I see you think commenting from a driver is ranting,,,I see your comment as this
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Likebigred713
Yo - BR713. Normally I don't chime in on blogs, particularly a reply to a rant. But since I'm researching for an upcoming fleet insurance agency seminar where we've been asked to present on CSA and telematics, I can't resist rebutting your numbers. First of all, although I've yard jockey'd many a CMV in my career, I've never been OTR so admittedly, I cannot feel your pain in that area.
On the other hand, I've been in the business for 30 years, interviewed, rode with and supervised hundreds (thousands at this point??) of drivers. Inevitably the 80%-20% rule always prevails - call it the "Teddy Roosevelt" rule if you will. 80% of the safety rules and regs are made up to keep the 20% non-compliant drivers in line, and the rest of us have to live with it. And before you dive into the "common sense" argument, please understand that, of the 5 senses, common is the least.
Firstly - ATRI studies are showing a distinct correlation between HOS Compliance BASIC (fka "Fatigue") and a propensity for increased likelihood of collision. Tired drivers are more likely to have collisions (I know, it's not rocket science).
Secondly - your numbers are Zvengali smoke and mirror, slight of hand. O.K. 72 hours divided by 24 hours = "3 days without pay". Excuse me, but you're assuming you drive 3 days consecutivley (24 hours x 3) without a rest break. In my opinion, that is not safe, and you will have a collision, and that should not be allowed.
Thirdly - if we do use your "formula", let's take the legal driving limit of 11 hours, multiply it times 7 days and - voila - you can drive 77 hours! (not allowed - you can only drive 70 in 8 consecutive days). But even if this were the case and you drove 77 hours, that's almost twice as many hours as the "legal" work-week which I believe is 40 hours, before OT - no?
Fourthly - this is all nonsense. If you've been in business as long as you purporte to have been, you'd know that all these numbers are bogus and fictitious. You can bend them to whatever fashion so desired. The only numbers that really matter are #1) can you drive the next mile safely and #2) what are you doing to prevent the next colliision? No one (except presumably your family, as long as you don't bore them with long diatribes) cares how hard you work for a living. So please, give all of us other working Joe's a break my friend - we all want to work less and earn more. You are preaching to the choir.
My suggestion to you is to either find a driving position that pays by the hour so you don't have to drive like a maniac to "keep on earning money by the mile" - or get out of the profession entirely and lower your blood pressure. Sorry to be so frank, but my friend, but as you so aptly have exhibited, we are all entitled to our opinion.
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Likelog doc>>>>is being forced to drive in any condition any different even if legal, That is what we have to do under these rules you gys want in, any weather, etc if we want to make money,,so, my point is, we are not an 8 to 5 job,,we gotta have flexibility to even make it in this business and these rules are not flexible,,,Like i said fix the other problems, loading, unloding, parking,,the cart is being put before the horse here,,and i never said i drove ilegally but i have some flexibility with a log book,,,,Does not have to be illegal, i can leave a dock and go park 10 miles and finish my break now without a e-log charging me time,,,,FLEXIBILITY
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LikeTo Johnny Cargo,,,,,There is nothing simpler than filling out a log book by hand,,takes me less than a minute.....Your drivers that havent ever used one of course think that the E_log is easier,,The old drivers that now use them are broke because they don`t make any money sitting in a parking lot all week. There is a mandatory 10 hour break after 14 hour rule. Basic elementary math (10 x 7) is 70 hours, CORRECT? PLus the 30 min rule coming now after every 8 hours (7x..5) is 1.75 hours , corrrect?,,,,well add them together and it comes to 71.5 hours, 3 days is 72 hours(24x3),,,,,,,,In my calculations that is 3 complete days so we actually get to work 4 days a week,,,,This is less than any other job anywhere in the world,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Like i said, i hope this is thouroughly hashed out in court or maybe the drivers will get a set and we stand up for our right to work....
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LikeTo the LOG DOCTOR>>>you don`t have a clue what my last comment said do you,,,,,?>>A person is gonna do what it takes to keep their possessions, although you make the rules and if we gotta abide by them>>>>>>.We(or most us) are gonna pay our bills so, we are gonna drive when we can come rain,snow,ice,tornados,hurricanes etc,,,,,NOW what part do you not understand that WE will take chances because we are now pushed by YOUR fed gov TIME CARD as we GET PAID BY THE MILE......NO drive, NO money
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Likebigred713 Red, let me give you a true example of cheating on logs, "A driver has been driving for 11 hours and has used his extra 3 hours loading and unloading. but he is not tired, so he pulls the "ole" 2nd log book out and continues to drive. 175 miles, down the road a car pulls into his lane, the accident kills the driver. Lawyers pull your cell phone records, shows your GPS movement for a total driving of 15.5 hours without a break. You are charged with Vehicle Manslaughter due to the fact you should not have been there, think it won't happen, I know it has, poor friend of mine is now being sued for civil charges, will loose his home if found guilty." I could go on, but he should not have been there if he was running legal, so is paying your bills more important than someones life? So go ahead and endanger the public with your driving habits, sooner than later, it can happen to you!
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Likethe log doctor>>>I operate safely under any conditions but you are missing what i`m saying man.......We get paid by the mile, and if we don`t drive we dont make anything,,,,,DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I`M SAYING,,,Apparantly you SAFETY guys on here are fighting that these new rules are safe,,,,well, i beg to differ,,,,,, Every truck driver in the US is gonna push the limit to pay their bills and these rules make us all unsafe as we will take chances to make our payments,,,,,,I don`t want to hear this crap from someone that isn`t actively driving or someone that just got their cdl... AS YOU AND THEY DON`T HAVE CLUE WHAT WE REALLY DO,,APPARANTLY,;;;;I just hope enough real truck drivers that "have a clue" what these rules mean show up in Washington to tell the truth about these things...I`m done as too many safety/money oriented big company know it alls are watching here.
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Likebigred713 Drivers are a great bunch to work with and the rest of the world would do well to have the work ethic of a trucker. They work a thousand miles from home, solve problems on their own, work 18 hour days come home and tell anyone that will listen about their day and can't wait to get on the road again tomorrow. I don't drive for a living today but I still hold a CLD. I know that in a 13 speed you need to shift before you split on the way up and split before you shift on the way down. I'm certainly not big business, I'm a working man trying to scrape out a living and hopefully make the driver's job a bit easier. I've trained over 500 drivers to use elogs and once they get it they all say the same thing; "never going back to a paper log!" Drivers using elogs also tell me they get more done in the day by managing their work load to the available driving hours than they ever did by wiggling the lines in their logbook. An elog is more or less a glorified stop watch that make it easier to keep track of what you are doing. Think of it this way, how interested would you be in posting comments on this blog if you had to write them by hand and mail them in? Your computer makes it easy for you to do this in the same way that an elog makes it easy for a driver to keep his/her logs up to date. There's a lot more to than this but perhaps this is enough to consider there might be an advantage here. It's like radial tires rather than bias ply, air conditioning instead of an open window, HID headlights, air ride suspension, cruise control and other technology that make the job of a driver a bit more tolerable. Elogs have a similar advantage.
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Likei did and do click the reply box david
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LikeLike I said earlier,,,With this e-log, 10 hour break, 14 hour rule you are FORCED to drive whenever conditions are bad, I`ts time the whole story was told, It`s not safe for you, me, especially youngr drivers, your mother, father, or your children as weather and traffic conditions will now have no influence when we stop or drive because these rules force you to drive period,,,,,,,,,You don`t sound like a truck driver or you are for sure not a seasoned one to take up for these new rules as it`s the most unsafe rules we have ever had pressed on us,,,,
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Likebigred713
When you reply to a post, address the other poster by name or at least click the "reply" box.
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LikeDavid McQueen bigred713
David,
bigred might have been replying to me, but if he was not, I will give my 2 cents anyway, drivers are or should never be forced to drive when the conditions are "Bad", if a driver feels it is unsafe or a danger to the public, he should stop. Red, as far as my "Veteran" status, 32 years in the "Trucking Industry", (yes I was a driver and still hold a CDL), I know for sure that paper logs have passed their time, newer drivers are flooding the system, veterans are leaving for warehouse jobs, dispatch jobs and such. Bottom line, as long as the shipper, trucking company and consignees know you will drive over your hours and you allow them to use you, then "YOU" are the one at fault. Hence, E-Logs, now it is your turn to decide, "Are you able to operate a Class 8 Vehicle safely under the new rules?"
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LikeTheLogDoctor David McQueen bigred713
The FMCSRs currently state that a driver is not permitted nor can he be required to drive if he's too ill or tired to drive safely. The problem is that some companies intimidate or coerce the driver to "voluntarily" drive. If the driver pushes the issue, the company (not ALL) can make the driver's life miserable. Drivers want to be on the good side of the company so they take all loads and drive hard, creating "good will", thinking that later, the company will reward them. It's the same in every industry. The constant give and take between labor and management and the subtle politics, unwritten and unstated, that creates problems. As in government, there is no utopian form of business.
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LikeJohnny Kardo, there is no response because it is not the EOBR's that are the issue. It is the inflexible rules they are enforcing. Until it is a 24 hour world on the shipping and recieving end, they don't work. They put drivers in unsafe situations. Not always, but enough times to make it an issue.
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Likehmmm... no comments. I guess that sums it up.
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LikeJohnny Kargo John, we figure he is now rich and getting richer, he see the future and got out in time, does he need to adopt a tax deduction?
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LikeWould anyone be interested in hearing some feedback from a former trucker who went on to start a company that produces and sells electronic logbook and DVIR software?
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LikeHere's the deal, E-Logs are here to stay, July 1st dead line may get pushed back, but it is coming. Until we have a lobby in place that can speak for our industry like it should be, then hey, we are nothing more than the money pit to assist this country in getting out of debt. As people are forced into our industry due to the economy, things will continue to change. No longer is this a profession honored, it is being regulated and dominated by na sayers that have no concept of what we sacrifice to do this job safely. (Now I will remove myself from the soap box)
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LikeTheLogDoctor There is a lot of confusion about the Final Rule compliance date for July 1. The July 1 final rule only applies to the 34 hour reset. There is no rule in the CFR regarding EOBRs. That rule 395.16 was vacated by a US court. The proof of this in on the FMCSA website. You will not find any reference to 395.16
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LikeJohnny Kargo
Agreed John, but with the court case now on the coming of the July 1st start time for HOS change, the final rule might be set in Sept. 2013 on E-Logs goes hand in hand with the governments idea as to what is good for us. Really should be called the 70 Hour Restart Rule, because in real world, not many will have the chance to use this.
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LikeTheLogDoctor Johnny Kargo You summmed it up right here log doctor,,,,the part that says..quote==e-logs goes hand in hand with the governments idea as to WHAT IS GOOD FOR US,,,,,,WHAT A DAMN JOKE
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LikeHere`s my question>>>Do these e-logs force your drivers to drive in tornados,hurricanes,high winds,fog,ice,floods,snow, rush hour traffic???? And question number 2>>>Is this safe????
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Likebigred713 EOBR do not tell you what conditions you should or should not drive in. That is up to the driver, even on paper logs, if you found out you were or are in bad weather, you should stop and locate a safe haven. (DUH) Are they safe, the recording device is, question should be, is the driver safer on E-Logs VS. Paper Logs? Another item, yes I drove, yes I logged and yes my coloring book look good, but was not correct, so on that note, Did I think I was a safe driver? Why yes, so I thought, but really, who am I fooling. That is the reason for E-Logs, you will no longer be able to color the book as you see fit, you will have to follow the letter of the law.
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LikeTheLogDoctor My feeling is this,,,the thing will be tied up in curt for quite some time
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LikeGentlemen,
I am new to this "commenting" posts program, and I have been reading the comments with interest. I must comment, "that I have never seen such mutilation of the English language." I speak in generalities, of course. Nevertheless, and I am NOT defending any Washington politician; however, for someone to be so critical of another, and not be able to put together a coherent sentence in the process, is beyond my comprehension. My 2 cents worth!
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LikeMoxie Do you text Moxie?????We can all read between the lines and grammar, spelling and half sentences is well understood by "old Truck drivers". You seem to be one those new professioal ones that want to believe that you are something besides a damn truck driver(if you are a driver at all)
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Likebigred713 Moxie
Big Red,
Nope. Do not text, and YES, I am and have been a "PROFESSIONAL" truck driver for more than forty years; however I am also college educated with a four year BBA, and four more years of building trades schooling with a degree there as well. I am and have been a Safety Director for many years in the heavy-specialized over-dimensional arena of this great industry. Your sarcasm toward me is understandable. I believe (forgive me, Mom), that I was conceived in a sleeper unit of my Dad's and his brother's (my uncle) many trucks that they owned jointly. To see me, and unless you watched me get out of my truck, you would never know that I own and drive trucks. Do you see any point in protracting this conversation any farther? I certainly do not! Regards to you, Moxie.
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LikeMoxie No sense in pursuing this as i do believe the part about you being the safety director,,,,,No 40 year veteran of actually driving a truck would go on this site and and start demeaning us 40 year veterans by making fun of the way we correspond to each others comments ,,,happy trails
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Likebigred713
Big Red,
As I stated...I was speaking in generalities. You bet your boots, that I AM a CERTIFIED FORMALLY EDUCATED SAFETY DIRECTOR, and a FORMALLY EDUCATED CERTIFIED/ADVANCED DRIVING INSTRUCTOR. There is nothing I enjoy more than having what I call "the old salts" of this industry in my classroom. We have more fun, and we learn a lot, through our many truck driver stories. I hope that you have many more years of SAFE driving ahead of you, but be aware of CSA, Sleep Apnea, the new medical examination requirements, and MAPS-21, 'cause Mr. Trucker, these are going to affect this industry dearly in the coming months and years. KEEP ON TRUCKIN', my friend. Moxie.
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LikeMoxie I`m 58 yrs old and i do "do this" as my only source of income. Own authority, one truck and My DOT safety score is below 30,,,,,,Not a log book violation in at least 10 years, no tickets, no accidents in as long but it`s not as if the DOT is`t trying to ruin my scores, Lot of inspections n last few years and my score is still low. As for sleeping, I believe when you get sleepy you need a "nap" so this 14 hour rule needs to fly, E-logs need to fly. A truck drivers worst enemy is being pushed and time restraints,,,,so, you guys keep pushing those things and when you run everyone off with this 10 buck hour job, sitting in parking lots more than driving Type of job you might wish things had gone a little different direction. These kids now days arent gonna sit out in a parking lot when their friends are home watching CSI and playing video games. We ruined our children by letting tree huggers get a foot in the door. Kinda like what the fed gov has done here too.
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LikeMoxie
Moxie, it appears that your ad hominem critique avoids the main issue, namely Ferro's comments and the pending EOBR NPRM in September (only 6 months past the deadline set by statute). Personally, I don't that anyone makes typos or uses incorrect grammar; it's more important to focus on the issues and the gist of the argument.
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LikeI have read this article and the posts that followed the one thing i have yet to read about is who it is that is really pushing all these new rules ie... Swift, Werner, JB Hunt. They are the only ones with anything to gain by all the independents being pushed out. I have been around trucking since I was a baby grew up in a truck. A strike is the right idea but getting those large trucking companies to follow would never work they would just reap the rewards of it. They would never allow there drivers to participate and those that did would be out of a job. While I don't know what the correct answer is I agree it shouldn't be written up by politicians who have never driven a truck.
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LikeMayflowerloyalist
If "Big Trucking" is behind the new regulations, you forgot Schneider. Anyway, freight haulers do well when the economy does well and right now, you've got an administration whose fiscal policies are not only stifling the economy but may well destroy capitalist America. When the federal government turns socialist, you better be a card-carrying member of the Socialist-Democrat Party or you'll be looking for work in the parking lot at Home Depot with the illegals.
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Likelisten up safety first! This EOBR is about running the little man out of business plain and simple, it not about safety first no more than child support is about your kids. Its all about the revenue stupid! everybody is schewing the truck driver these days and including you my friend (cash cow)
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LikeI sell EOBR and I hear you all out there. I understand too that you all are worried. Realistically my customers whom have our EOBR their drivers are happy they have it. Their life is much easier all automated all the time. No more sitting updating paper logs using a calculator figuring out paper work. What you will find out is you have more time to do what you do, drive. What does a DVIR do for you? It reduces your time in Pre trip post trip. Alert your shop of issues.
No more manaul mileage log either. You guys will no longer have to be an adminastrator to your paper log. The inspector pulls you over. Guess what less stop time. More drive time less hassle.
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LikeYou sound like a salesman safety for sure. We dont have 100 wagons and 100 drivers to drop and hook and keep moving. We don`t have drivers to relay a load when a driver runs out hours, We live load and live unload and spend hours on docks and that 14 hour clock kills us period. You know it, big cos. know it and gov.knows it. It`s all designed to either run us into big companies or just run us out. the ten hour break/14 hour rule is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen when you mess with live loading/unloading drivers as we gottta run our ass off to try and make a dime once we get loaded or unloaded. A 700 mile run turns into a two day trip and who can make a living running 700 miles in two days...They say even the playing field, well. let`s start here,,give us the big fuel discount. the big fuel subsidy, and give us some that big money the big cos are getting training these new drivers and then cutting them loose to do it all again for more gov. money....Give us the big discount on tires, truck repairs and also give us 25 new trucks every year like the big Cos. are getting now from gov.
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LikeSafety First
I do not think that you sell EOBR units, currently. I believe you sell AOBDS units, instead. Sorry, but allow me to enter this post: EOBR units, by definition, do not exist, because the agency was forced to remove the regulation that defined them, from the FMCSR. Words passing between 19,000 Safety Professionals is: If an electronics vendor comes to you and says, "Buy an EOBR from me", do not trust them. The MAPS-21 legislation requiring electronic logging devices is clearly being outlined in the 112 Congress, Subtitle C - Driver Safety, SEC. 32301. HOURS OF SERVICE STUDY AND ELECTRONIC LOGGING DEVICES. I believe any new terminology may be, ELD, and a final ruling should be forthcoming. This legislation is nearly 1000 pages long and is in very small print, and my poor vision takes its toll after reading many pages of it. Moxie
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LikeThats what happen when drivers dont stick together, everybody telling us how to do our job. All it takes is 2 days of strike and will show that we mean business drivers. Its gonna get worst! and thats when its to late to something. I mean whats next?
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LikeIf the EOBR is such a good thing then, why does it not apply to ALL motor vehicles? Them four wheeled drivers can cause just as many traffic incidents as the "commercial" ones. Make all of us put our DL in a slot to start the time clock for that driver, that day.
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Likemore place to park at night will be needed if those that were driving illegal are stopped. then more trucks,drivers and fuel should also be needed but the question is how much & many once everyone is complying totally ending driving more hours then allowed.
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LikeI would be willing to bet a years salary that this hooker that is now in charge has never been in the cab of a truck. So maybe she and all of the politicians that think they know something about truck saftey should spend a couple of months seeing what the drivers put up with from the damn dot.
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LikeWE ARE PAID BY THE MILE AND DON`T YOU EVER FORGET THAT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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LikeDont`t look now but "TIRED OF STUPID" profile pic looks like the DOT cop that is right now writing us up on things that are not wrong with our vehicles and puching them in his computer before we get a chance to have them checked,,,You want morons off the road TOS, then get n the big cos. for hiring them and giving thm that new semi without any idea what they are doing. We all know what this is about and if you think E-logs, 10 hur break nd 14 hour clock make the roads safer then you are the moron,,,,When that clock hits zero hour it`s gonna be foot through the floorboard and "get the hell out my way" time. didn`t see that stop sign,stop light and never saw that four wheeler pinned under my truck..
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LikeLet me get this straight . Ferro says they can't delay the training because it is about safety right now. Then she says they will make a decision about detention in 2015. What is the number one reason drivers don't get the rest they need and have to fudge their log books. Dock time. Detention. Shippers that don't care about how many work hours you have left. She can make sure we get an extra nights sleep when we are away from home, but not not address the detention issue until 2015. Nothing like not making it home because you ran out of hours waiting to get loaded and then sitting 4 hours from home for an extra long restart. Yup, need that EOBR. Wouldn't want to go over my hours by going home for a couple of days. What junk.
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LikeI'm afraid to run out there and invest in an EOBR system UNTIL we get an official ruling AND we know what capabilities the FMCSA will require. Honestly at my company, we run "squeaky clean legal" NOW and I can see where an EOBR would prevent the simple mistakes which most drivers get dinged for; like a wrong date or a trailer # etc.
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Like"Tired of Stupid": If you REALLY drove big trucks for 30 years, you'd know there is no such thing as a "semi-truck". There are, of course, "semi-trailers" pulled by truck/tractors or trucks. Any experienced trucker understands the terminology.
My issue with the FMCSA is the "one size fits all" doctrine. Not all commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are 18-wheelers (truck/tractors pulling semi-trailers). Many private carriers operate pickups puling semi-trailers with a Gross Combination Weight Rating of 26,000 pounds or less but over the 10,000 pound threshhold and thus are operating CMVs. Drivers aren't required to have Class "A" CDLs to operate (Sec. 383) or D&A testing (Sec. 382), yet are required to comply with the rest of the FMCSA regulations. If the FMCSA must regulate pickup trucks, at least create a separate body of regulations that relate to private carriers operating the 10,001 to 26,000 pounds CMVs.
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LikeDavid McQueen
Yes I am fully aware to the proper terminology, however there are many who do not know the proper terminology other than semi. I have used tractor trailer and some think I am talking about farm equipment.
I also fully understand your statements and agree there should be a separation in the regs for the different weight classes. Although I am still not understanding why a person who is operating a pickup truck with a trailer who cuts grass has to register or be governed by the FMCSA.
Truck drivers were the Knights of the road when I started driving. We were the drivers who helped stranded or broke down motorist. We were considered the professional drivers. Now most everyone including truck drivers are distracted and running while tired. Most is caused by shippers and consignees detaining drivers and due to low freight cost companies are paying less today than they did 20 years ago. So drivers have to make a living sothey run illegal to pay the bills.
We all know it, so lets make changes to improve the safety of our roads.
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