EOBRs will force carriers to deal with driver issues: task force

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OTTAWA, Ont. — An electronic onboard recorder (EOBR) mandate in Canada could be the “game-changer” that finally forces forcing some carriers to deal with driver issues, according to the CTA’s Blue Ribbon Task Force.

“An EOBR mandate, if enforced, would not only enhance highway safety through improved compliance with the hours of service regulations, it would also force more carriers to deal with driver issues,” the Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) said in a statement today. The BTRF comprises 11 CTA board members from across Canada.

“In the current environment, where compliance with the hours of service rules is dependent upon the easily-manipulated paper log system, the fallout from inefficiencies caused by delays, paperwork errors and other issues have too often been pushed down to the driver,” the BTRF added.

By putting drivers in the position of not being able to earn income from all the time they spend on the job, “some drivers feel pressured to take action to try and make up for it in other ways rather than the carrier intervening on their behalf,” states the BRTF.

“When everyone is required to use an EOBR, all carriers will have to deal with their customers and will have the data to show where drivers are being delayed and for how long. The onus will be on all carriers to manage their businesses. In particular, those that overlook or depend on drivers to manipulate their logbooks to make their deliveries or to get their miles in will have to change their business practices. It is hoped that in the future all carriers will compete more on the basis of efficiency and value added service, as opposed to service levels artificially created by drivers over-extending themselves with regard to hours of service.”

The Conference Board of Canada study, Understanding the Truck Driver Supply and Demand Gap and Implications for the Canadian Economy – which forecast a driver shortage of as many as 33,000 drivers by 2020 – highlighted the need for improved wages and working conditions as well as a reorganization of trucking activity and supply chains in order to reduce pressures on long haul truck drivers and make better use of their time.

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  • Bring it on. Its about time drivers had an impartial advocate that would bring about changes to their benefit.

  • This will even the playing field where honest drivers won’t have to compete with drivers that cheat. Unfortunately,”the fly by night operators. ” of which there are many , would still fall between the cracks. I agree … Bring it on , but make sure all the bases are covered .

  • OBDRs would be a welcome site if they helped to get a trucker a better living standard. Far too long have truckers been the victims of poor dispatch, incorrect load information and pickup times and allowances. If it wasn’t for the trucker bending the rules to suite the customer, on time deliveries would not happen in far too many cases. No one should have to work a 16-20 hour day just to earn 8 hours of honest pay.

  • EOBRs will help as far as driving time goes, but the area with the moat abuse is loading and unloading time, which will still rely on the honesty of the driver’s input, so really no change from the paper log.

  • I don’t necessarily buy into the improved safety through enforcement argument in the first paragraph but I’m on board for the rest of the comments.
    I’m especially heartened by the positive comments in the comments section. Good stuff.

  • I’ve been saying it to people for years: Properly compensating drivers for EVERYTHING they do in the course of a day removes the incentive for them to fudge logbooks, run tired and pee in bottles…

  • Talk about Big Brother! What other workers are monitored by individual electronic surveillance that follows their every move? I have no issue with the intent to force carriers to keep their drivers hours more reasonable and compliant. This industry knows the issues drivers are facing making timelines on overcrowded roads (with little trucker facilities), at overcrowded docks, while trying to meet impossible timelines. They don’t want to look at the real solutions because it will require more drivers, higher rates and lower profits.

  • Notice the word REQUIRED …

    When everyone is required to use an EOBR, all carriers will have to deal with their customers and will have the data to show where drivers are being delayed and for how long. The onus will be on all carriers to manage their businesses.

    OK
    When everyone is required to wear a condom unless
    Married and wanting kids things will be better.
    Less unwanted pregnancys and VD.
    Big Bro will tell you what to do.
    They know best.

    Just roll over and say nothing and whine later.

  • The EOBR is a novel idea but will it really level out the playing field? I’m afraid not for two reasons.

    First, most EOBR devices do not stop the truck from operating so drivers can still drive over and above their hours of duty limits.

    Secondly, satellite and GPS implementation was also supposed to be the device to level the playing field. That didn’t happen.

    The only way that the playing field will be level is with a combination of enforcement; of the driver logs by both the carrier and the province and enforcement of the carrier to ensure that they are abiding by all the rules and enforcing the driver.

    In other words if the province does not enforce the rules better than they do now you will see no change. Carriers and drivers will not be compelled to make a change without enforcement. If nothing changes then carriers will not use the tools they have available to their advantage to charge accessorial fees to their customers.

    EOBR’s will be another tool in their arsenal to assist in every part of the business but that is exactly what I heard 10 years ago about satellites.

  • now if you would just regulate the finders fee pecentage at 20% not have a free for all to see how much a load broker can shave off the top before selling it to a trucking company then this industry would change over night and trucking companies would go back to making good money not chasing after pennies. wages would go up and equiptment would get upgraded and maintained properly! Problem solved!!!

    Back before load brokers were invented it was a gentelmens agreement between trucking companies only to take a 20% finders fee for the load and the balance would go to the trucking company that did the load. now its a free for all and the one making the big money is the broker and no one else!

  • How about regulating the shippers and receivers, a lot of time is spent (and wasted) waiting to load or unload with no regard for the truck driver or his or her company. Putting all the responsibility for keeping to the correct hours of service squarely on the drivers shoulders is far from fair. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was actually some common sense in this industry.