Whether hauling produce, livestock or other consumer goods, numerous tractor-trailers grace the roads and highways of California every single day. While the importance to the economy of long-haul trucking cannot be underestimated, there is a risk for motorists in standard passenger vehicles. Accidents involving these big rigs can be extremely severe due largely to the weight and size of the trucks.
A few years ago, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enacted what it called the Hours of Service rule. This rule set forth limits on the number of hours truckers could drive each day or week. The goal of the Hours of Service rule was to crack down on trucker fatigue, a known risk factor in many truck accidents. More recently, the FMCSA has issued a new mandate to help push compliance with this rule.
Truckers are now required to use electronic logging devices to record their working and driving time. Previously, they had used hardcopy logs and many believed this had a high error opportunity either due to honest mistakes or deliberate inaccurate entries. The ELD mandate is in its second phase now with full compliance required by December 16, 2019. ELDs communicate with a truck’s engine to record when an engine is started, when it is idling and when the truck is actually in motion.
Transport Topics explains that the new phase of the ELD mandate includes phasing out initial electronic devices referred to as automatic onboard recording devices. The new ELDs are said to provide better ability to edit driver logs and account for personal use of a vehicle.
