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Connor: Hello and welcome to the sixth episode of Big Rig Banter. I’m your host Connor Smith.
Troy: And I’m Troy Diffenderfer.
Connor: The date is August 2nd, 2017 and we’re gonna be talking about everything ELDs today – recent cases and future phases. We’ll be covering the recent Supreme Court case and then later hear from Nicole Worden of Redbone Trucking on just how their company is dealing with the recent mandate. And we’ll also get into some of the specifics surrounding this new law of the land, followed by our fun topic section at the very end. But, first, let’s check out some industry news.
Troy: Alright, well first we’re gonna start with a piece of legislation that’s making its way through the house as we speak. A provision in a House funding bill that would delay the implementation of electronic logging devices for carriers that serve the agricultural sector faces an uphill battle. This is drawn criticism because this bill could not only delay the implementation of these ELDs but it could also prevent funding for the meal and rest time from being passed through Congress. A report accompanying the 2018 funding measure advanced by the house on July 17th includes a provision that would require a study of the FMCSA’s mandate for adoption of ELDs, but it does not gain traction among house leaders and senior senators. Lacking such endorsements just a few months before the mandate’s December 18th implementation hurts the chances of any changes to it reaching the President’s desk. Whether the preempt law preventing this funding was intended or not it has many truckers and Congress members up in arms and actually the panel also rejected an amendment by Representative Rosa DeLauro that would have restored the transportation investment generating economic recovery or Tiger grants and fiscal 2018. We’ll dig deeper into the ELD controversy and make sure to stay tuned for any updates in future episodes but I know Connor you have some more news information before we get into our main topic.
Connor: Yes that’s right, this recent acquisition of Whole Foods by Amazon is being viewed by many in the world of Transportation as an earth-shattering industry disruption for truckers and actually the United States economy as a whole. Considering the timing and degree of the changes this move will have on the industry lots of market experts are saying logistics and trucking companies dealing with transportation of perishable foods will be some of the hardest hit. Part of the reason for this is that this market is historically dominated by truckload brokers, small fleets, and owner-operators so large publicly traded and privately-owned truckload carriers have traditionally avoided the produce market because of its unpredictability volume volatility and geographic rotation. So now all that could change with this recent acquisition especially considering how Amazon is aiming to expand into the transportation industry with its own shipping fleets. Furthermore, the increasing popularity of organic and ethnic produce further complicates this matter. Most organic produce and most ethnic produce are grown on farms that are too small to generate a truckload of freight and as a result, multi-stop truckloads are necessary which require more time to load and more expertise to execute properly. This along with pickup and delivery challenges for locally sourced foods which is something that Whole Foods prides itself on could bring another range of issues into play here so clearly this acquisition is going to continue making waves in the industry and we’re going to keep our eyes on it just to see exactly how it’s gonna ultimately affect all sorts of truckers and their jobs. So that was the news segment for today and we’re just gonna jump right into our main topic but we’ll be right back after this quick break.
Music – Wherever the job takes you Big Rig Banter is here to bring you the latest in industry topics, trends, and more. Stay tuned after this short break.
Troy: All right, so now it’s time to talk about ELDs, Connor, electronic logging devices, ELDs, or some call them EDLs, electronic device logs. So, they’re kind of interchangeable but we’re gonna stick with ELDs for the sake of our audience. But, so just to start things off so motor carriers have actually been using ELDs way back in the 80s but it was only recently that they’ve now become to kind of be a requirement for the majority of trucking companies. Since they’re a relatively expensive piece of technology and in many eyes invasive many trucking companies have kind of shied away from them over the years but after a 2010 bill requiring mandatory ELDs was nixed after two years in 2014 a revamped bill requiring all trucking companies to implement ELDs by December 18th, 2017 was passed and this kind of created this big rift between the truckers and trucking companies which we’ll get into shortly. But, I know you did some more research on the recent case and what can you tell me? How are truckers reacting and what’s this recent case mean for our trucking audience?
Connor: Absolutely, so the Supreme Court has left in place the electronic logging device rule enacted as part of the moving ahead for progress in the 21st-century act, otherwise known as map-21. Essentially this rule calls for the Secretary of Transportation to adopt the proper regulations requiring ELD use in commercial vehicles driving interstate. Drivers are required to keep records of duty status or their RODS made available for, made available to trucking companies. Now that recent appeals to the rule have been rejected though it seems that those in the trucking industry will have to become compliant by December 18th, 2017 like you mentioned
Troy: Yeah and these ELDs they’re basically going to be replacing those handwritten logs that many truckers are used to it’s usually a big notebook or a big black book that you have to carry at all times in your rig and they’re kind of going to be the new updated version of that.
Connor: Right and so part of the main opposition to this new act, the owner/operator-independent driver’s association that’s the OOIDA was leading the fight against this mandate and was actually stifled by this the Supreme Court. The OOIDA was quoted as saying they are extremely disappointed that the Supreme Court does not see the merit in reviewing their case with so many questions about its constitutionality. And although the OOIDA plans to continue pressing the issue in Congress and with the current administration, others like the American Trucking Association have said it agrees with the Supreme Court’s decision. So, while not everyone is on board with the regulation it seems the industry will have to move forward with the reality that ELDs are going to be implemented either way, but there might be some benefits to ELDs despite such vocal critics. We actually have a blog covering this; there’ll be a link to that piece below.
Troy: And we’re gonna talk about it later in the show we’re gonna go through some of these pros and cons of the ELD but before we do that why don’t we get into the specifications, Connor, why don’t we go back and forth we’ll let our listeners know what some of the specifications for these ELDs and the ELD mandate is gonna be. So, why don’t you kick things off?
Connor: Sure, so to start, an ELD automatically records the following data elements at certain intervals: it records the date, time, location information, engine hours, vehicle miles, and identification information for the driver, authenticated user information, as well as vehicle and motor carrier information. And these are all things you can find on the FMCSA’s website if you want more specifics or you want to review these more in-depth, but we’re just going to go through like you said, Troy, some of the main specifications. So, what else do we have?
Troy: Yeah and then so the location data must be recorded by an ELD at 60-minute intervals when the vehicle is in motion and when the driver powers up and shuts down the engine, changes duty status and indicates personal use or yard moves. So, basically your company is going to be able to know where you’re going and what you’re doing. Each 60-minute interval your location will be tracked basically like, it’ll act as a GPS for your company employees so they can see where their trucks are.
Connor: But on that same note, ELDs are not actually required to collect data on vehicle speed, braking actions, steering functions, or other vehicle performance parameters. ELDs are only required to collect data to determine compliance with hours of service regulations. So, that’s information that your employer can choose to view but, it’s not necessarily required by the mandate that all of these things be recorded.
Troy: Yeah and if you’re an owner-operator purchasing an ELD or a company purchasing ELDs for your entire fleet, you should only purchase an ELD that is self-certified by the manufacturer to be compliant and that is registered and listed on the FMCSA website. Below we have the list of registered ELDs as well as a list of motor carriers as well as the ELD checklist and ELD ruling. We have both of those listed so make sure to check out those links as well. But Connor, I think it’s time to get into the pros and cons. I know this is a hotly debated topic and it’s divided on both sides and I think it’s important for us to be objective and just lay out what the good and the bad are when it comes to these ELDS.
Connor: Absolutely, yeah so I’ll start here with some of the pros.
Troy: Sure.
Connor: So, the first one I have is driver habits and really this could go either way but we’re going to view it as a pro in this context. Although it might not be welcomed by many drivers themselves, one of the most significant benefits of ELDs is that it allows companies to track bad driving habits such as hard braking, hard cornering, excessive acceleration, and of course, speeding. Not only does this open up the possibility of helping drivers to become better at what they do but, it can also help with driver retention rates considering they won’t be blindsided with harsh criticism when the time should come. Additionally, this can help good drivers to receive the recognition they deserve leading to better means of motivating drivers and hopefully pay raises. So, I see that as a definite pro. Although some people may feel that’s invasive, but I’ll let you get into that a little later. The second pro I have is administrative and diagnostic burdens are lifted at least a little bit more than they had been in the past. Considering that ELDs automatically track and record the movement of a vehicle that means there’s a lot less paperwork for administrators so instead of having to record your hours of service manually, ELDs offer a method of saving time, costs, and effort just by switching to an electronic system. It may not be an instant transition to the new system for many fleets but managers and drivers are likely to spend less time filling out papers while increasing their efficiency in this area.
Troy: So, yeah it’s basically gonna let you focus on driving. It’s gonna cut out a lot of those little things that you’re gonna be doing on your break where you could be resting instead of getting some sleep you have to fill out paperwork and a variety of other things so that’s definitely a benefit and I agree with that.
Connor: For sure. And so the last pro I have is just efficiencies in general. ELDs have the potential to bring a lot of positive changes whether it’s immediately obvious or not. Another one of the possible benefits of the ELDs is that companies can track exactly how much time drivers are spending idling and the frequency of these events. This can allow the easy identification drivers who maybe idling more often than is cost-efficient and helping to hold people accountable for their fuel consumption in general and in addition to tracking things like fuel usage and vehicle movement, ELDs can be connected to a vehicles diagnostic port allowing the device to continually monitor fault codes. So, having this data available at all times can mean you’re actually ahead of any maintenance issues that may arise and it allows you to receive detailed reports and real-time alerts that are just not possible any other way than by using ELDs which can connect your entire fleet across the country as well. So, in addition to that being able to identify any recurring issues can make it much easier to enact the right precautionary measures mechanically or whatever just leading to ultimately higher efficiency and productivity. So, it’s a pretty significant pro. I don’t think a lot of trucking companies would stray away from having that be available to them but I think you’re gonna tell us why maybe they won’t here in a second.
Troy: Yeah you know Connor, and I hate being the Debbie Downer, but there are like any issue there are pitfalls to it and let’s just talk about a few of those. Obviously, one of the biggest issues that truckers are having with these ELDs is the invasion of privacy that many feel. A lot of people are having visions of George Orwell’s 1984 and Big Brother watching you and that’s never a good feeling. These devices basically can track where you go, when you’re parked, and how much fuel you’re using among other things and while it’s good for cost-saving many drivers feel like Big Brother is really watching them a little too closely.
Connor: I mean so is your cell phone at this point, too. Your smartphone is, so lesser of two evils maybe?
Troy: And, one, on the other hand, these ELDs aren’t cheap and many trucking companies fear that these ELDs are simply too expensive to implement into their fleet. We know there’s a lot of smaller trucking companies out there those who listen to us and with a cost of about $500 per truck annually requiring these smaller companies to pay for these devices could really hurt the industry. Some truckers just simply can’t afford it. And, then one more issue that truckers have with this new bill is that the hours of service will now be so tightly regulated that these company owners won’t be able to take into account traffic and other miscellaneous stops and this could even push these drivers to drive more reckless or even go without sleep to basically make it under the allotted time.
Connor: And, that kind of makes me think of the situations where you know maybe drivers are like thirty minutes away from home and they get stuck in traffic and instead of being able to fudge their hours of service time, you know just to make it home, they’re gonna receive a violation because they just went that extra couple minutes when they weren’t supposed to so, I mean, it can be maybe taken on a situational basis but still that’s I think that could be a con for a lot of people.
Troy: Yeah and these drivers don’t really like it because they think these situations are something they can’t control and it’s going to be a negative penalty on them and it’s something that they have no say over.
Connor: And now we’re gonna hear from Nicole Worden of Redbone Trucking about how their company has implemented ELDs, some of the concerns they’ve heard from truckers, as well as the potential benefits they’ve already seen. Here’s that interview.
Music
Connor: All right so we’re on the line here with Nicole Worden of Redbone Trucking Company. She’s the director of recruiting and we’re gonna be going over some questions today about ELDs. Nicole thanks for coming on the show.
Nicole: Thanks for having me.
Troy: All right so how long ago did you guys implement ELDs and what was that process like?
Nicole: It was three years ago. It was smoother than we expected it to go but it was something, we are contractors for FedEx, and it’s something we knew that was going to be required in the future so we just decided to do it ahead of time and glad we did.
Troy: And, were there any hiccups or anything along that way?
Nicole: No, I mean it was like I said a transition that was easier than we thought it would be.
Connor: Cool and so how do that the truckers who work for you guys, how do they feel about ELDs generally if there’s a consensus or do they have any feedback?
Nicole: Um, they kind of struggled with it in the beginning but now they love them for multiple reasons. I mean the GPS in them, they’re safer, it’s easier for dispatch too because of the hourly tracking, or the hour tracking I should say, on the devices but, yeah.
Connor: Cool and so would you say those are kind of the main benefits and are there any benefits that you as a company experience from ELDs?
Nicole: Well, they have the cameras also on them so the cameras been very beneficial as far as like we’ve had situations where had somebody pulled over for not wearing their seatbelt we were able to use the camera to show, no, they were wearing their seatbelt never took it off. Insurance reasons, obviously, it helps with insurance rates, things like that.
Troy: And why do you think some of these companies are more hesitant to kind of implement these ELDs?
Nicole: Possibly because they’re running, by the law. You don’t have big logbooks in your truck.
Connor: Have you heard the sentiment at all that any truckers feel as though ELDs are like a form of surveillance or anything like that has anybody said stuff like that to you?
Nicole: Well, with the camera, the cameras they kind of feel that way but, they have to remember the camera might be rolling all the time but it doesn’t mean that we can ever look at what’s going on in the truck. The only time we ever get any footage is if there’s a heartbreaking event or obviously an accident or something like that then it will send us footage to, to our safety director and to the owner and so it’s not like you can just go watch everybody all the time that’s not the situation and that that’s, that’s something that maybe they felt you know like someone was invading their privacy but, it doesn’t work that way.
Troy: And I know you said your company has been more successful since you implemented these ELDs, but how exactly? Can you give us some examples of how your company has grown since you kind of implemented these devices?
Nicole: I just think it reminds everybody to abide by laws, rules, regulations things like that. And that if they’re not doing that it is you know it is something that someone’s going to know about so it just reminds them to be safer drivers, I believe, and I mean it kept accidents I mean no accidents and violations and things like that.
Connor: Awesome well thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. We really appreciate it, a lot of good insight there and is there any message that you’d have for our listeners about your company?
Nicole: About our company? Sure, it’s a great company. Anybody who needs a job call, Nicole, at Redbone Trucking in North Salt Lake.
Connor: Right on, well thank you so much it’s been a pleasure talking to you.
Nicole: Thank you.
Troy: Alright and again a big thanks to Nicole Worden. It was great to kind of get some insight from someone who is actually in the industry and has implemented these ELDs. Just to reiterate again they’re gonna cost about 500 bucks annually and you actually don’t have to have them on any trucks that are pre-2000, so that is good for some of your older trucks I know there’s definitely some older trucks on the road still kicking.
Connor: It’s interesting too because those trucks are gonna become more valuable so if you are wanting to avoid, you know, spending the money on these ELDs or you just don’t want to use them, maybe you’re an owner-operator, definitely check out any truck made before the year 2000 and you won’t have to buy them so just interesting tidbit moving forward as well.
Troy: And again the deadline is December 18th. And as far as the inspections, as a motor carrier, you’ll have eight days from notification to replace your non-compliant device with a compliant one. This is the same time allowed to take action on ELDs that need to be repaired, replaced, or serviced. In the event of a widespread issue, FMCSA will work with affected motor carriers to establish a reasonable time frame for replacing non-compliant devices with ELDs that meet the requirements.
Connor: And moving forward that time frame is also going to account for whether you have an ELD system in your trucks or not so if there ever comes a time, you know inspection time you’re definitely gonna have to have all of these systems in place just to make sure that you are up to code with all of your vehicles and you know hopefully in the future, the near future ideally, like many products these ELDS will probably go down in price as they become more widespread and smaller companies are more or less forced into implementing these devices in their trucks. And while it seems like it’ll take a while to start integrating these technologies, I’m sure everyone will come to terms with hopefully the benefits of this new technology. Really not that new, but newly implemented technology and hopefully it’s very helpful overall for the trucking industry and doesn’t make things harder and more complicated than they have to be. So, we’d like to hear from you guys our listeners and anyone else in the trucking industry what would you change about this recent ELD mandate or just the map-21 act in general? So, feel free to reach out to us on Twitter at Big Rig Banter, or on Facebook also at Big Rig Banter but, anyway we’ll be right back after this quick break.
Music – Wherever the job takes you Big Rig Banter is here to bring you the latest in industry topics, trends, and more. Stay tuned after this short break.
Connor: All right, welcome back to our final section, everyone’s favorite portion the fun topic section of Big Rig Banter and so we’ve got a few interesting new things to discuss this round. First, we thought about what would a cool app be for truckers? One just for truckers and Troy and I both came up with our own takes on this. So, Troy why don’t you go ahead and tell the audience what your app for truckers would be.
Troy: Yeah, so here’s my Shark Tank pitch. It’s Fender, which is a total rip-off of Tinder, but it’s a dating app for truckers. You’ll swipe left or right whether you think this trucker is attractive or not based on their picture and profile. If you’re tired of lot lizards, it’s time to join Fender.
Connor: Sounds like it could be a step up from general dating apps, in general, I don’t know if there is anything particularly tailored to the trucking industry. Have you found anything that is similar to this yet?
Troy: I did not there is one truck dating website but it doesn’t look very popular so I think this is a niche market that I can capitalize on and piggyback off of the mobile app craze that is dating apps and I think truckers will be able to use it on the go and I think it’s a great way you’ll be able to set parameters like age and distance from you and I think it’ll be a great way for truckers to kind of connect.
Connor: Could be fun and you know you could do like stoplights for whether you like someone. You know it’s like green light you hit it and then you go forward, red light stops right there.
Troy: I do like that.
Connor: So, that sounds fun we could start development on that and think it’s ready to go.
Troy: All right, well let’s hear your new technology you came up with.
Connor: So my idea is basically just to create a social media platform just for truckers similar to the dating thing I guess but you know it’s not limited to just trying to attract yourself to other people, other truckers on the road. It’d just be a cool place maybe we could call it like CB something like citizens, citizens band book, or like truck hub, or face truck, or truck book, or citizens band Graham.
Troy: Alright so the name is in the works but if you guys have any ideas we’d love to hear them reach out to us on Twitter or Facebook again we want to know your names for Connor’s new social media enterprise, but Connor tell us more about this.
Connor: So, yeah you know you could have like private chat groups and stuff like a CB band radio a citizen’s band radio type of thing because I don’t know how many people actually still use those things nowadays. I mean it’s much, there are much better ways to communicate. More targeted ways to communicate with like smartphones and stuff but you know you could share trucker memes you could discuss industry topics, which you know Facebook does that, but there’s a lot of other things going on you get distracted and when you just want to talk about trucking, and the industry in general, it’s sometimes good to just have something made just for you. But, we’ll see.
Troy: Yeah that will keep them running.
Connor: So all right, those are gonna be our new trucker apps if you guys have any ideas of your own feel free to reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook like we keep saying. And now for our second topic.
Troy: It’s time to lay down the gauntlet again.
Connor: Once again…
Troy: We’ve been here before, Connor. And it’s debatable who came away victorious last time but…
Connor: And of course we’re talking about our previous episode where we debated who would make a better truck or Superman or-
Troy: Batman.
Connor: Superman or Batman. I think the answer was obvious there that Superman would dominate but Troy says otherwise. But today we’re gonna bring a new take on this because you know there are a lot of women truckers out in the industry and they deserve their time to shine. So, who would make a better trucker Wonder Woman or Storm? Troy, what’s your take on this, who would be better?
Troy: All right, well I thought about this and I didn’t want to do the same thing as last time where I talked about their abilities physically and their superpowers the whole time but
I really like Wonder Woman for the intangibles. I like her honesty. I like her integrity what she represents, she wants to save the world and the lasso of truth I think is awesome it’s a great way to bond. I know that I never would be able to lie to her because she has that lasso of truth and I think that would create a stronger bond when we’re doing some team driving. And I think she would be a good driver whether it’s solo or a team she does have superpowers as far as strength and she can fly. She does get that ability later in the comic books, many people don’t know that. And she has a variety of different abilities. But, Connor, what do you think?
Connor: Well I’m going with Storm, obviously, because she just has so many good qualities about her. So many interesting things that you could make a case for her being a much better, more fit candidate to drive trucks. For one, she does pilot the x-men’s fighter jet on a daily basis when they’re going from mission to mission, so she has a lot of experience, you know, hauling very volatile loads. So there’s that. She’s got experience. She also has natural leadership skills, which is something that you know, all truckers need in general but she’d be a great asset to a team. Not only that, but Storm was one of the first black comic-book characters and black female characters to actually play a major role in the narrative there so that’s cool because we need to see a little bit more diversity in the trucking world as well.
Troy: I agree.
Connor: So, that’s a plus. So to get into her more esoteric qualities, she’s good at magic in witchcraft which you know if you’re bored on the road that’s something to entertain yourself with if nothing else. So, you could do some magic tricks on the side maybe make a little extra money who knows? That said she is an expert thief and a skilled and cunning gifted hand-to-hand fighter so, I take that to me and she would probably be able to thwart any you know cargo theft going on because she can think like a thief so she can kind of plan ahead and say like I don’t want to leave my rig too vulnerable here or she can maybe give you know tips to other drivers on the road how to protect their rigs from cargo theft. Additionally, and this is pretty cool, she has a near-complete vision in darkness so any time of the day she can see the road perfectly even if her headlights are broken. I mean she wouldn’t pass inspection then, but she could still see she could still drive a truck and she has superb dexterity so she’s not gonna get tired on the road she’s gonna be able to really drive super accurately and she’s also resistant to psychic attacks which Wonder Woman might try. I don’t know if she brings that lasso of truth around Storm’s gonna be like nope I can resist that. Oh, I’m forgetting the biggest thing is the fact that she can change the weather at will so that’s pretty, pretty helpful you know she’ll be able if it’s raining out and she’s driving with her fleet she can change the weather too, you know, make it much safer road conditions. If it’s snowing just turn that to sunny weather in the blink of an eye so she can eliminate lots of accidents every year if she was on the road so Storm is my pick for better trucker this time around. The gauntlet has once again been laid down.
Troy: All right well we’ll save that for another day we’ll let our listeners decide who they think would be a better trucker, we want to hear from you, and we’re also gonna we have a blog up right now debating on who the better trucker would be, so feel free to check that out. Connor, why don’t you take us out of the show?
Connor: All right yeah thanks everybody for listening once again this has been the 6th episode of Big Rig Banter and next time on the show we’re gonna be talking about a recap of the 2017 Great American Trucking Show out of Dallas, Texas. We’re gonna have some eyes and ears at that show. AllTruckJobs is going to be present there. We’re gonna have a booth set up and everything so make sure you guys come talk to us, hang out a little bit, and we’ll give you the rundown. But, that’s gonna be next time so thanks again for listening. I’m your co-host, Connor Smith.
Troy: And I’m Troy Diffenderfer.
Connor: And this has been Big Rig Banter.
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