Well, I would like to start with the fact that the truck driver who is keeping regular RODS- Record of Duty Status no more than 8 days during 30 day period, or on the other hand is not travelling outside of a 100 mile radius of the border will qualify for an exemption from the ELD rule.
Yet, the truck drivers who are hauling cross border freight should use the ELDs if they are within the United States.
At this instant, the truck driver who is not following the rules and regulations given for the ELD Mandate can be placed out of service. That is to say, they are going to have suspended commercial driver’s license CDL.
ELD Mandate Myths
| ELDs will put owner operators out of business | Owner operators were fearing that the ELDs would push them out of business, but in reality, it is not so. |
| ELDs are too expensive | ELDs were expensive when they have first introduced over 20 years ago. Back then fleets paid up to $2.500 for a single device. But nowadays the FMCSA estimates that the average annual cost of an ELD will be $495. |
| An ELD will automatically report HOS violations to law enforcement | Believe it or not, nothing is transmitted to enforcement unless there is a real reason to do so. |
| ELDs don’t improve truck and driver safety | Leave this myth aside because in reality, it is quite the opposite, the ELDs are helping truck drivers and dispatchers to see how much time they have left behind the wheel every single day. |
| Only the big fleets will be required to use an ELD | The improvements in the trucking operations can be noticed both by large trucking companies as well as by small trucking companies operating with 20 trucks or less. |
| A driver will interact on the road | Quite the contrary, whenever the truck is in motion, the ELD will update the drivers’ status. |
| ELD provides remote control of the vehicle | The ELD won’t shut down your truck or take any control of it. In fact, it will record the engine data. |
| ELD doesn’t lower a safety risk | Trucks with electronic logs have significantly less crash rate in comparison to trucks to truckers using paper logs. |
What Are The Potential Downsides Of ELD
Be that as it may, the ELD mandate still has few potential downsides for truck drivers and trucking companies. For a proper use of the ELD Mandate, it is a must for the fleet managers to understand both the pros and the cons that these electronic logging devices are bringing.
