Assembled Trucks
A new rule requiring truckers to electronically log their hours behind the wheel is getting off to a bumpy start for some drivers, with complaints arising over technical glitches and limited customer support for the devices.
The mandate, which took effect Monday, is intended to reduce accidents stemming from driver fatigue by increasing compliance with limits on driving time.
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Many large trucking companies have used electronic logging devices, or ELDs, for years. But as recently as last month, thousands of smaller fleets and drivers who own their own vehicles were still tracking their hours with paper logbooks, which officials say are easier to falsify.
The transition hasn’t been smooth. Some truckers report delays in getting devices delivered, trouble getting units installed or difficulty logging on to smartphone apps that sync up with the devices. Others said they waited for hours on hold trying to reach customer-service representatives.
“In one day we had 50 calls complaining about problems of some sort dealing with ELDs,” said Norita Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, an industry group that has opposed the mandate. “We think the providers are not prepared to deal with owner-operators or small businesses. They are used to servicing large fleets.”
Many truckers held off on buying the units until the last minute, in hopes the rule would be delayed or that they would receive an exemption. Federal regulators have granted some waivers, such as for trucks used for short trips.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the rule was completed in 2015, giving truckers two years to obtain a device. There are more than 200 registered ELD vendors, she said.
On Monday, ELD provider Keep Truckin said its customer-service operation was overloaded by new users. “The request volume spiked far beyond expectations,” the company said on its Facebook page.
The company didn’t respond to emails seeking further comment.
Analysts say the shift to ELDs will likely raise shipping costs and make it harder to book transportation at a time when trucking capacity is already tight. But some don’t expect significant market disruptions until April, when big rigs without ELDs can be removed from the road until the devices are installed.
Trucker Ryan Stamm of Red Bud, Ill., said he has trailers loaded up with freight that he can’t deliver without risking a violation because of a backlog setting up service contracts for the ELDs he has purchased. The 30-year-old got two devices from Omnitracs LLC last week but was told the earliest someone could get to him was the end of this week.
“Omnitracs was blaming guys like me for waiting till the last minute. I said, there’s no law against that, but I’m pretty sure you have to be able to provide service for the devices you guys are selling,” Mr. Stamm said.
Omnitracs spokeswoman Liza McIntosh said the company has “the most comprehensive support and training in the industry” and is now serving thousands of customers who hadn’t been using electronic logbooks.
Ken Evans, chief executive of Konexial, a Johnson City, Tenn-based provider of the technology, estimated there are as many as a million drivers, many of them working for small carriers, who still don’t have the technology.
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“These guys all waited to the last minute and beyond,” Mr. Evans said. “We didn’t really start seeing activity until the week after Thanksgiving, and now it’s accelerated and is growing exponentially…It is astonishing.”
With report from WSJ
