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Electronic log book conversion. |
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When I purchased this log book cover, ELD'S were supposed to be just around the corner as a mandate. The cover is fifteen years old now and has seen its better days. There are welder burns, it has been stepped on, wet, scrapes, wrinkles and its now on the final mission to make it for just a few weeks until I replace it with an electronic log in 2016. |
This week’s news in trucking is that the ELD/EOBR will soon be mandatory in all trucks accept for those built prior to model year 2000. There are other exceptions to the rule however most of us will be on the new system which takes effect in two years, December 2017. This final ruling comes after a decade and a half of much discussion, court hearings, arguments, comments and many emotions from all parties involved in the long drawn out ordeal.
Mandating the electronic recording on driver’s hours of service is one of the major game changers this industry has ever experienced. In my opinion, it seems that this ruling will have the same dramatic effect as when deregulation took place back in 1980. The paradigm of what is of value will shift as time will be scrutinized more than ever before. In the past, miles and tonnage always had a value but wait a moment…maybe they didn’t have value. I suppose that is the reason behind the creation of the Household Movers Guide. Despite its flaws, the guide was a consistent resource to assist consumers and drivers with mileage, billing and payment. The same can be said for truck weights in that various scale houses and portable scales keep everyone honest. It would be interesting to see where vehicle weights would be if there was not accountability.
So here we are with this major shift within our industry and many drivers made the statement that they would leave trucking all together if ELD’S were to become mandatory. I think we will see the same results as when it became required to obtain a CDL in order to drive a commercial motor vehicle. In the end, we didn’t lose drivers in the wholesale fashion as many indicated. With that said, are you going to be an early adopter or will you wait until the last minute to become set up electronically? There are many systems in which to choose in order to suit your needs of your operation. Will you go with a higher end system which includes a fleet management system or a bare bones, one time charge with no monthly fee. The option is to select a unit in between. Of course, for many who are leased to a carrier that decision will have already been made by the carrier.
At the end of the day, if you are staying in trucking as a driver, carrier or owner operator you will need to adapt to a new way of conducting business. What’s important in any form of change is that you find the silver lining as with change there can be opportunity to enhance your position over the competition.