Time: The measured or measurable period during which an action, process or condition exists or continues.
Value: The monetary worth of something.
In many cases, our time as drivers is not valued adequately. Value is a funny thing. Water has less of a monetary value than diamonds yet we need water to survive. When we look at water and how frivolously it is used for recreation, cleaning and entertainment it appears as though one of the elements that support our lives would have greater value. This is due to waters abundant supply. In fact, roughly two thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by water. When we look at something that has a high value such as a diamond, there is a high value due to its smaller supply. Yet, the diamond is not necessary for our survival. Waters value seems to go up when it’s measured. The case in point for this is that bottled water has a much higher value than faucet water from a well. This brings me to the December 17th Electronic Logging Device mandate. Now, much like bottled water, our time will be measured which should have an effect in regards to the value of our time.
The value of our time can be expressed in many ways. One of them being increased efficiency during the loading and unloading process. Another example could be paid time at the dock and other miscellaneous duties. Also, freight rates and wages could increase for our current methods of compensation. In any of these cases, time which has never been a major player in the transportation field will not be denied. The players “on the field” have always been miles tonnage or cubic volume while time sat on the bench. We have worn these other players out. The question becomes…how will we utilize the new player “time” to our advantage in the transportation arena?