Do you find the quality of truck drivers on the road to be decreasing?

[Electric Chicken]

They do not draw lines either. Which is how we ended up with elogs

Haha basically.

 

[patriciajnsn]

This is what e-log lovers look like to sane people:

View attachment 35388

So are one of those that think elog drivers is part of the the flock of sheep?What's that make you then?Or are you making up your own rules,policies and laws as you go?Companies tell drivers what they can do,follow every move you make and so does the government.Whether you wanna admit it or not you are also part of the flock.I prefer to call it a puppet on a string.I wouldn't be knocking elogs too much because elogs will soon be law.

 

[Electric Chicken]

These companies like to make money. They don't watch us as close as you might think, but if the shit hits the fan you bet they'll turn over the data to the authorities. Same as you'd be expected to do with your paper.

 

[Electric Chicken]

How do I know?

I admit nothing.

[emoji1]

 

[Getfit Tommy]

How the potential gold mine of ELD data could hurt you

 

[Tazz]

snipped~Under the terms of ELD mandate, GPS pings are required of the devices at least on the hour, so the ELD ultimately could become the auditor’s radar gun. Just as GPS tracking systems make it simple for auditors to uncover and declare hours violations today, uncovering a speeding violation that was never ticketed will be that much simpler with widespread ELD use.~

I would love to see where they got these specs from because so far as I know we are still waiting on specs for the ELD's.

Well hell it is in there

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/FMCSA-ELD-Final-Rule_12-10-2015.pdf
Section § 395.26 describes ELD data records, including location data, when the driver changes duty status, when a driver indicates personal use or yard moves, when the CMV engine powers up and shuts down, and at 60-minute intervals when the vehicle is in motion. FMCSA emphasizes that it does not require real-time tracking of CMVs or the recording of precise location information in today’s rule.


Right now they only record state line changes and duty status changes. Or omnitracs does.

 

[Uncle Birchy]

New breed drivers just wouldn't have made it as little as five years ago. When did truckers become useless wusses?

It was the same crap 10 years ago and ten years before that

And i bet in another ten years from now be the SAME THING.....

so quit yer complaining

 

[Getfit Tommy]

Yeah, you are right about the tracking of 'other things' which is why i always say "keep your nose clean' even if it is a substance that isnt tested for on a drug screen, like opoids. Still can't figure out why the basic DOT 5 panel tests for Angel Dust (PCP)

Yes, if a drunk driver pulls out in front of you, you hit him, kill him... it will eventually become your fault if EVERYTHING is NOT perfect.


This is why I pay in cash and don't use my Credit Card, yet my phone has a GPS (even if I turn it off)

Fuel Stops must be logged.... duuuuuh.... (don't wonder why, K??)

Your phone calls will be tracked, and from whence they came, and oh, so much more.

Next thing you know, that drunk driver is a Saint, and you are a Sinner, who is now going to prison, and being dropped by your insurance carrier who is about to go broke... which really shouldn't matter at this point anyway.

Also, if you a fatass, they will look for sleep apnea, smoker? Lung congestion.... high cholesterol, low blood sugar, diabetic tendencies, high blood pressure, everything that you thought HIPPA protected you from... yeah, IF you are involved in a fatality


So yeah dude (not looking up your name) you do make a good point here. A good attorney is the only one who can do this, unless you happen to have done it before... that is 'repped yourself' ..... ahem


I worked for years as a Safety and Compliance admin for a very large (did I say "very?) large privately owned trucking company, and today, they are compliant, oh, so compliant. The drivers wear their PPE while driving.

It was a choice they had to make after a driver violated his 32 hour restart and got behind the wheel (type I diabetic) and killed a family of 5 just as he was getting on the freeway. He took the wrong insulin. That is "injected".. which is EZ to do, and actually I DO take issue with Type I Diabetics carrying a Class A. Used to be, they had to re-validate their med cert every 3 months, then it became.... a lost issue... I believe it's coming back..

Anyway....

Yes, buddy ol' pal, I am admitting that it really takes a lot of "hustling" as an O.O to make it out here. The rates... man, let's not even get started.

I can't justify what we have to do to make ends meet, make a truck payment, trailer payment, all the other payments, and STILL support our families.

It is what it is and it always has been. The ELD is going to be a game changer. Right or Wrong, it is going to affect roadside inspections, after-the-fact points, just... too much for an O.O to handle.

We push. If you arent one of those, and you don't HAVE TO BE... I guess "hat's off to you"

But I do. I really do.

I've never been involved in an accident. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I dont have any illnesses (that I know of or that make me an unsafe driver)

But I AM used to being responsible for my own actions and stopping and going when I want. Yeah, I've broken rules. You haven't. O.K. again.. hat's off to you.

For me, the ELD will hurt. Badly... and I'm not the only one it's going to hurt.

If you are embracing the ELD, that is your right. I'm sure there are things that you would not embrace that could probably be issued or installed under the name of "safety' that you probably wouldn't like.

You are an advocate.

I am not.


You are... I'm not sure what they call drivers like you. You are probably a good guy. I just don't know what they call you guys.


Me? I am a dying breed. I'm a cowboy. A renegade. A lone ranger. An "outlaw"... I don't really like that term because it gets interpreted wrong, but we came from a school... (no school actually) but a world where EVERYTHING was a responsibility that we took under our belts, we suffer, we pay, we hustle, we die.

This is the stark truth.

Do I like ELD's or any other "tracking devices?"

No.

And "yes" it is a "tracking device" ... trust me on that one. It will follow you long after the fact.

Do I believe in Safety? By all means.

Do I want or need someone else to define those terms for me?

Not in this industry.

Sorry.

I'm on the "other' side of the fence on this one.

So far in fact, that you can't see me.

 

[Getfit Tommy]

Ha ha... I just read "it calls the police"

no, not quite, but close. It might as well. Fact is, it doesn't need to, it does the equivalent, just not in "real time"... but that "call" will discuss the violation in "real time" .. and that, my friend is the kicker.

Read the link I posted. It's enlightening. Every State has some info on it's effects.. affects... not sure on that one... at this time.

The smaller carriers or O.O's who run a few other trucks are the ones who will really be in trouble.

 

[Tazz]

With ya on diabetics. They have no business out here.

I always advocate working smarter and not harder. But to each their own.

I do not advocate elogs. I would be happy if the HOS did not exist in any form. But I am also a realist that see the blood shot eyes at the shippers desk on the "Hot Freight" load. And I see, just as the motoring public does, how well drivers stop themselves. We had a driver up over 24 hours do more harm to our company's image in 30 seconds than the three decades of safety awards prior to his actions. And we are on elogs. So no they are not the end all of safety.

However they are harder to fake, they will improve public perception, and they will make zero difference in how I run. So I shrug my shoulders and move on.

 

[Getfit Tommy]

With ya on diabetics. They have no business out here.

I always advocate working smarter and not harder. But to each their own.

I do not advocate elogs. I would be happy if the HOS did not exist in any form. But I am also a realist that see the blood shot eyes at the shippers desk on the "Hot Freight" load. And I see, just as the motoring public does, how well drivers stop themselves. We had a driver up over 24 hours do more harm to our company's image in 30 seconds than the three decades of safety awards prior to his actions. And we are on elogs. So no they are not the end all of safety.

However they are harder to fake, they will improve public perception, and they will make zero difference in how I run. So I shrug my shoulders and move on.

Well, my brother...

There is a 'reason' I am writing about this also.

I haul Hazmat and was on one of Cali's most dangerous highways last week. We all got brake-checked. I wasn't going that fast as I am always ready.. but.. I was hauling 5000 lb. totes of chemicals, they surged and my brakes faded.


The Good Lord above gave me an open turn lane. The opposing traffic were long-nosed Pete's just like mine. They saw what was happening and made room.

I avoided killing, or at least, running over 3 to 4 cars, even at that low speed. I had just gotten up. I was alert.

It wasn't my time. It wasn't their time, but it was time to think.

You might say "he should be happy that someone is going to think for him" but as I stated earlier, everything is NOT perfect. I had a backhaul that was paying well. It included DH pay and I had to drive a good distance to load it.

..and I still had to get off-loaded.

Fortunately, no chemicals were spilled, nobody was hurt, but i had time to think about things for awhile.


With the Elogs, that backhaul would have been history. The people I haul it for pay upon delivery. Do you see where I'm going with this?

... and for those people who feel the need to search me out, don't worry about it. It wasn't in the truck of for the company that is posted in my profile. Nice truck, but I'm not there. Sound like I just gave people an idea.. no, I didn't. They do it anyway. I have a huge IG account and I know how people are. I don't do it, but it is done to me all the time.


So.... yeah. Once again, repeating myself here. Elogs will be a game changer for not just myself, but also my "outlaw" friends... of whom there are not many left. I lost over 60% of them over the last ten years.

I feel that I have Guardian Angels... at the same time, I think we, as professionals, are Guardians of the Highway.....

What will the Elog do to me?

Without being overly negative, I'd say I might be going back into personal training and actually using my California Registered Dietetics cert....

I love these rigs and I love the road, but I don't know how much more "game-changing" i can take. Elogs are just "icing on the cake" for me...


We are looked at with disdain. I haul water out of the Desert over 700 miles to places that would suffer greatly if I didnt make those deliveries, and yet that middle finger I see is such a big part of my everyday life. I'm hauling Gold for these people and they think we are out here solely to annoy them.


"Icing on the Cake" ...

 

[Duck]

It calls the police and notifies them? No it does not, it simply records your change of duty and location of that change. Just like should already be on you RODS. It is an advancement in technology, nothing more or less.

It might as well. If the driver can't edit the log like we can with paper, it's Big Brother.

Just as factual as your ignorance. Don't like Government interference don't use public (government) roads. It is not about sheep, it is about rule of law.

No it's about sheep allowing or even praising more government regulations we don't need.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Same regulations. Just can't flaunt them anymore.

 

[Electric Chicken]

They can't issue speeding tickets based on GPS because it's not always that accurate.

 

[Duck]

I do not advocate elogs.

Sure sounds like it.

 

[Duck]

How'd we get on elogs anyway?

(I'm too lazy to go back & look)

 

[Electric Chicken]

As a topic here you mean? No idea.

As an industry change? No idea.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Actually I'm certain the big carriers got sick of their retarded drivers getting so many logbook violations. So they developed this.

 

[Duck]

As a topic here you mean? No idea.

As an industry change? No idea.

As a topic.

Doesn't matter though, your answer wouldn't have been any different.

 

[ironpony]

How'd we get on elogs anyway?

(I'm too lazy to go back & look)

Some newb asked what an "ELD" was...

...setting off the corporate tool in a frenzy of how everything would be just ducky if all the whining would stop.