Data Driven: ELD’s can open door to big data

If knowledge is power, then Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) could be the most powerful device on the truck. Sure, the device at its most basic is responsible only for monitoring hours of service, but the potential of networking and integrating data is impossible to ignore. Why settle for simple electronic logging when it can serve as a total fleet management solution in a box? A friend of mine drives for a 10-truck floral distribution company and makes regular runs from Ontario's Niagara region to Chicago, Michigan, and western New Jersey. The picture he paints of his distribution manager would be amusing if it were not (most likely) true. The manager must be a fellow who grew up trucking in the '60s, and still listens to eight-track tapes of Red Sovine and Dave Dudley. The routes are badly planned, trucks are frequently diverted en route, the vehicles are always breaking down, and all communication with drivers is done over the -telephone. And he doesn't believe in ELDs. My friend says his boss will wait until the last possible moment to equip his fleet - and then only because he must.

ATA calls for continued ELD push

ARLINGTON, VA - The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is calling on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to continue in the push toward a December rollout of mandated Electronic Logging Devices. "Supporters of a delay are attempting to accomplish, almost at the 11th hour, what they've been unable to do in the courts, Congress or with the agency: roll back this common sense, data-supported regulation based on at best specious and at worst outright dishonest arguments," says Bill Sullivan, executive vice president - advocacy, in a blunt letter to the administration's deputy administrator. U.S. Representative Brian Babin has introduced legislation to delay the mandate by two years.

U.S. rep looks to delay ELDs

WASHINGTON D.C. -- U.S. Representative Brian Babin is proposing a two-year delay in mandating Electronic Logging Devices in the U.S., under legislation that he introduced today.

VDO RoadLog meets ELD compliance requirements

ALLENTOWN, PA - Continental has announced two of their electronic logging devices, VDO RoadLog ELD and VDO RoadLog ELD Plus, meet compliance requirements for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ELD Mandate which will come into effect this December.

Teletrac Navman launches ELD solution

GLENVIEW, IL - Teletrac Navman has announced the launch of its new Electronic Logging Device (ELD) solution called DIRECTOR, which meets all current technical requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ELD mandate.

Magellan, Samsung provide industry with “one-stop-shop”

TAMPA, FL - GPS provider Magellan has announced it has partnered with Samsung to provide commercial-grade truck navigation and Electronic-Logging-Device (ELD) compliant software to track Hours of Service (HOS) for both short and long-haul trucking businesses.

FTR predicts rate, supply pressures

BLOOMINGTON, IN - The freight transportation forecasters at FTR foresee rate and supply troubles for shippers as 2017 progresses, and expect capacity utilization to continue its climb toward a peak in 2018.

PMTC to discuss marijuana, sleep apnea, ELD’s

MILTON, ON - Marijuana in the workplace, sleep apnea, and Electronic Logging Device mandates will be the subject of the Private Motor Truck Council's (PMTC's) next regional seminar being held May 17 in Calgary, Alberta.

Benefits of ELDs outweigh costs 2:1, Transport Canada says

TORONTO, ON - Transport Canada has determined that the benefits of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) essentially double the related costs, according to a newly released Cost-Benefit Analysis. The analysis examined two scenarios - a mandate for all federally regulated carriers, and one that excluded vehicles that would already have to meet a pending U.S. mandate for the devices. The analysis "confirms the significant net benefit from an ELD mandate and dispels some of the myths about ELDs that are out there," said David Bradley, CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, which released the results.

IN PRINT — ELDs Part 3: Inside the Black Boxes

If you're prone to anxiety when facing a wide variety of choice, such as when you're buying a pair of shoes or a candy bar, consider asking someone else in the fleet to spec' an Electronic Logging Device (ELD). There are more than 25 suppliers in the space now; by this time next year that number is expected to swell fourfold.

Questions About Electronic Logging? Check This Out.

DALLAS -- As regulators move closer to requiring controversial electronic logging devices for most trucks operating in both U.S. and Canada, a new online resource is available to people who have questions about the devices and the rules. ELDfacts.com has been started by the fleet management services provider Omnitracs LLC, in anticipation of the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandate slated for a September release. The regulations are expected to take effect sometime later.