The long-anticipated and much-detested ELD mandate has finally been etched into stone by the FMCSA. Starting this week, every OTR truck hauling a load must have an ELD on board from now until the end of time. 

So where does the industry go from here? 

Well, frankly, the industry realistically has no choice but to adjust to the regulations that have been placed upon it. Adapting, in the case of the ELD mandate, will mean continuing to become acquainted with the technology necessary to be compliant. 

Understanding electronic logging devices and how they’ll shape the future of trucking is paramount to continuing to run a successful trucking business going forward. 

First of all, remember that your device tracks everything you do. Whether it’s time edits, status changes, location, or even truck diagnostics, nearly every aspect of your vehicle can and will be tracked and monitored. 

Additionally, in compliance with the FMCSA’s regulations, your device will begin tracking all the aforementioned information and more when your vehicle reaches 5 mph. 

You can also find additional and more in-depth information by checking out last week’s crash-course article here.

With the deadline now past, it’ll be important for companies to begin prioritizing training for their drivers in order to avoid needless violations.

Before the deadline, issues involving a lack of understanding of electronic logging device systems were prevalent amongst drivers. Because they lacked basic training and understanding of how to transfer logs to DOT officers, many wound up paying hefty tickets for hours of service violations. 

Therefore, placing more importance on training drivers should be a must for companies who only recently switched from AOBRD to ELD. In addition, drivers should be provided with resources to help them on the road such as user manuals, instructions on transferring logs, a malfunction code explainer, and a minimum of eight blank paper logs. 

However, drivers won’t be the only ones in need of extra preparation. Dispatchers will also continue to play a key role in making sure that drivers are placed in a position to succeed. 

As a middle-person between drivers and loads, dispatchers will need to knowledgeably manage and advise their drivers by being able to foresee potential time conflicts. This can be done by planning load pickups/dropoffs and routes way ahead of schedule, giving drivers buffer time to deal with the hours of service adjustments caused by the mandate. 

For more information on this, with specific examples and situations, you can go here. 

Overall, the industry as a whole will need to adapt to the ELD mandate in order to succeed. While it may difficult, there are ways to do it that work for drivers, dispatchers, and your operation as a whole. 

So what do you think about the ELD mandate? Let us know in the comments or on social media!

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