\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

The transition hasn\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn one day we had 50 calls complaining about problems of some sort dealing with <\/span>ELDs,\u201d said Norita Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, an industry group that has opposed the mandate. \u201cWe think the providers are not prepared to deal with owner-operators or small businesses. They are used to servicing large fleets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Many truckers\u00a0held off on buying\u00a0the 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokeswoman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the rule was\u00a0completed in 2015, giving truckers two years to obtain a device. There are more than 200 registered ELD vendors, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday, ELD provider Keep Truckin said its customer-service operation was overloaded by new users. \u201cThe request volume spiked far beyond expectations,\u201d the company said on its Facebook page.<\/span><\/p>\n

The company didn\u2019t respond to emails seeking further comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Analysts say the shift to <\/span>ELDs will likely\u00a0raise shipping costs\u00a0and make it harder to book transportation at a time when trucking capacity is already tight. But some don\u2019t expect significant market disruptions until April<\/span>, when big rigs without <\/span>ELDs can be removed from the road until the devices are installed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trucker Ryan Stamm of Red Bud, Ill., said he has trailers loaded up with freight that he can\u2019t deliver without risking a violation because of a backlog setting up service contracts for the <\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOmnitracs was blaming guys like me for waiting till the last minute. I said, there\u2019s no law against that, but I\u2019m pretty sure you have to be able to provide service for the devices you guys are selling,\u201d Mr. Stamm said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Omnitracs spokeswoman Liza McIntosh said the company has \u201cthe most comprehensive support and training in the industry\u201d and is now serving thousands of customers who hadn\u2019t been using electronic logbooks.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019t have the technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow us on TWITTER for more Logistics News<\/strong><\/a>Follow us on FACEBOOK for more Logistics News<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys all waited to the last minute and beyond,\u201d Mr. Evans said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t really start seeing activity until the week after Thanksgiving, and now it\u2019s accelerated and is growing exponentially\u2026It is astonishing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With report from WSJ<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assembled Trucks\u00a0 A\u00a0new 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\u00a0took effect Monday, is intended to reduce accidents stemming from driver fatigue by increasing compliance with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,61,47,55],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8508"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8508"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8532,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8508\/revisions\/8532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}