Purpose and Benefits of the ELD Mandate 2024

The ELD mandate is a U.S. government law indicating that operators require the use of electronic logging devices such as the one we discuss at elddevices.net of commercial motor vehicles.

These e-log devices are intended to record data related to vehicle operations and driver activity – The driver details explicitly associated with hours of service, or HOS. And this law restricted Commercial truck drivers between rest periods to the highest possible number of hours they are permitted to drive.

The hours of service are a permanent record of drivers driving hours, on-duty hours (when drivers work but don’t drive), and rest periods, during a trip.

In 1937, the first national regulation requiring commercial drivers in the U.S. to keep service records was passed. Initially, paper logbooks were first used, with the details entered by writing.

However, the ELD provision necessitates that paper logs and a previous type of recorder called an Automatic On-Board Recording Device (AOBRD) be replaced with automated electronic devices.

What is The Purpose of the ELD Mandate?

As we all know, lengthy commercial driving times or long travel distance— sitting and stirring the wheel for several hours — can sometimes be physically exhausting.

A few pieces of research have established over many years that fatigue is one of the critical factors behind increasing rates of road and highway accidents.

If the trigger of a fatal vehicle accident is a commercial vehicle with a fatigued or tired driver, this real problem comes to the attention of regulators, news media, and the general public. And awareness of the issue led to the limitation of driver’s service hours and also the need to keep a log recording, which shows that driving hours are not exceeded.

Paper logbooks aren’t always reliable because drivers can make errors or miscalculations, and employers’ pressure to manipulate hours.

Hence the ELD provision requires that paper logs be replaced with electronic recording, automatically performed to ensure consistency.

What is the Value of the ELD Mandate?

The e-log mandate provision was passed so that carrier and owner-operators would, therefore, electronically enter all driver’s duty records to maintain compliance with new hours of service limits.

However, the provision explicitly tailored towards violations of inspections. Form and manner are among the most widely known violations issued to trucking companies. And These include incomplete or missing information on records of the driver’s duties.

Electronic logging devices were intended to prevent such violations from being committed by businesses-in fact, according to a Supply and Demand Chain Executive report, ELDs projected to eliminate 90% of such violations for commercial fleets.

Violations of out-of-service inspections are also usual in businesses that have incomplete or inaccurate information in their logbooks.

This violation is very damaging to a carrier fleet as this can put a vehicle out of service, or even a driver until the real issue is corrected.

The fine for these breaches is usually 10 hours, and this can put a significant gap in a trucking company’s profits against how much business is coming into the company. For commercial trucking companies, e-logs are required to eliminate this infringement completely.

Hours of service penalties for the trucking companies have been especially devastating. Moreover, it estimated that hours of service penalties in 2015 and 2016 totaled over $330 million, with average violations fines ranging from $150 to $1,100.

What Are the Benefits of the ELD Mandate?

The benefits of the ELD Mandate for the trucking company and truckers are as follows.

• Provide Real-time status for Back Office

Electronic logs provide standardized cloud-based networking for commercial trucking companies and it syncs the on-board systems of a truck to the back office.

A considerable amount of data is captured in the process and provides companies with the opportunity to make decisions in real-time to improve logistics plans.

With more insight into the supply chain’s logistical aspects, the fleet managers have no information gaps from the time a vehicle moves from one location to the other.

Dispatchers, fleet managers, as well as other office-based workers, can immediately receive a current driver’s status.

Electronic logging devices also significantly reduce driver time on deliveries and the logging-related administrative tasks.

• Simplify Logging Process

Paperwork, in particular, appears to be an overwhelming task as it can take 15 minutes each day to log duty records – equivalent to two full hours over the eight-day workweek.

And this may well cause silos and inefficiencies with short delivery times as well as schedules, which can become expensive for trucking companies.

FMCSAs ELD Directive offers an excellent opportunity for simplifying and streamlining the recording process. And thus reduces the time required for compiling and keeping driver records.

A lot of electronic log system replaces a hand-written logbook with an easy-to-use mobile phone app running on an Android tablet or iOS iPad. The days of trying to decode illegible log entries are gone.

• Streamline Compliance

The e-logs mandate also streamlines compliance for aspects such as inspection reports on driver vehicles and International Fuel Tax Agreements.

Never again will a driver need to be chased down to get a signature to validate a log entry. The Tablet app offers digital verification.

With different regulations across boundaries, complicated criteria can be hard to juggle over the task. And when inspection of the roadside log is required, drivers click on a button to show a fully compliant report immediately.

• Reduces Operational Cost

Another benefit of the mandate for businesses is more effective and faster delivery, less downtime, and money spent on transportation and fuel costs, which could bring ROI to the bottom line with more income.

This, in turn, allows the carrier to offer their fleet drivers a more competitive pay. And this can also assist with the industry’s driver shortage crisis as businesses can offer different types of pay and bonus packages to incentivize drivers.

Conclusion

The FMSCA ELD Mandate creates the perfect directive to simplify the process of keeping information on the driver log.

And also, many e-log systems we review at https://elddevices.net/keeptruckin-eld-device/ make compliance with the ELD rules automatic. And When updates to record-keeping standards occur, the ELD program implements the changes to provide automated compliance for users.