TORONTO, Ont. -- Transport Canada announced this month that it will mandate electronic logging devices (ELDs) as of June 2021 – more than three years after the U.S. first required the time-tracking equipment in the place of paper logbooks. And that's despite the fact that Canada had a head start on developing the underlying technical standards.
A ground-breaking bit of research from Australia has shown that low-frequency vibrations can make drivers drowsy. If this is true and the research is proven conclusive, it will call into question just about all we assume about truck crashes where the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel. Those drivers may in fact have been very drowsy but may not have been "fatigued" in an hours-of-service (HOS) context, the way that term is typically applied to "tired drivers."
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It can begin with someone surfing porn on a fleet tablet, clicking on the link in an email from someone who appears to be a trusted customer, or even using a poorly designed ELD. But no matter how a breach in fleet systems is created, the cybersecurity threats in trucking are all too real.
TORONTO, ON – The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is calling on the government to offer more support for green-trucking technology and alternative fuels, increase truck parking, and promote driver safety oversight programs. The group met with the provincial government today as part of pre-budget consultations. The Ontario budget is expected to be released this Spring ahead of a June 7 election. The OTA says it commended the government for reinvesting carbon fees paid by the trucking industry back into the sector in the form of rebates for fuel-saving devices and natural gas and electric-powered vehicles, but stressed that low carbon programs should reflect the realities of the modern supply chain.
There are still plenty of questions being posed by drivers, owner-operators and small fleets as the industry moves ever closer to the U.S. mandate for Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). Here are a few things to consider before the December 18 deadline arrives.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Thursday announced the adoption new regulations that will require the use of electronic logging devices (ELD) for truckers to keep track of their hours of service. The rules, which are set to be published on Dec. 16, will take effect two years afterwards and require Canadian and Mexican domiciled drivers to use the devices when operating on U.S. roadways. The regulations have a few exemptions that were not in the 2014 proposal, including excepting drivers who keep records of duty status in eight or fewer days out of every 30 working days; drivers in drive-away and tow-away operations and truckers operating vehicles older than model year 2000.