Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/339482
Voices 12 | Overdrive | July 2014 Reconciling ELDs and privacy concerns In a late-April Overdrive Extra blog post, Editorial Director Max Heine re- sponded to criticism following his April "Adjusting to e-logs" Pulse column, in which he noted the necessity of such adjustment given the proposed mandate. He agreed wholeheartedly with one theme that showed up repeatedly in the critique, which he summarized this way: "I abide in the law, so don't treat me like a renegade." Or: "I know when I need to rest, so don't treat me like a child who doesn't know better." His analysis follows. The reality is that a major reason there is an hours of service rule is that there are enough lawbreakers, desper- ate drivers and greedy fleets whose support of fatigued driving ruins the industry for everyone else. As R. Mahon commented online, "The HOS regs were originally written to protect the drivers from the carriers running them literally to death. Many carriers would still do that if they could find a way." A better question, put well by "Eric" in an online comment: "I'm a successful business owner. Why should I be held to the same stan- dards as someone new to the industry?" Quite right. I have argued, as have others, that one big improvement to the hours rule would be to loosen re- strictions gradually as drivers proved they were safe and mature. Those who prove to be the opposite are better off leaving the industry or being held to more narrow restric- tions. "If you're a chronic vi- olator, then fine, but I should not have to pay for someone else's misjudgments," wrote Joseph P. Bielucki of Quaker Hill, Conn. One other common objec- tion is that small operators, unlike their big competitors, can't afford an ELD system. That's true, though costs are getting cheaper for simple solutions. And what's more, an ELD for, say, a one-truck independent doesn't offer the efficiencies a big fleet gains because the solo guy fully knows his situation. For him, the ELD merely proves compliance. Which points back to the idea of retaining some basic operating freedom if your record shows you're a safe driver. Say you've driven five years as a leased operator with a clean record, and you want to get your own authority. You shouldn't have to invest in technology to keep proving what you've already proven. "I think you are un- derestimating those of us 'Old Guys' who are willing to move on," added Art Pfluger of Road Warriors Transportation in Mor- ristown, Ariz. "It won't be easy, but for us, instead of embracing this, we are laying plans to leave and find other ventures." Weigh in on any of Overdrive's coverage of the proposed mandate via OverdriveOnline.com/tag/ electronic-logs. It's something to see his name up on the TravelCen- ters of America location at Manning, S.C., says Jim- my Ardis. What is now the Jimmy Ardis Manning Travel Center, off I-95 at South Carolina 261 (or the Paxville Highway), was formerly Jerry's Truck Stop. The owner, Jerry Bradshaw, was a friend of Ardis who'd helped him out when he was getting started as an owner-operator. After his passing years back, TA took over operation of the stop. Ardis' history there ex- tends even further, though. He well recalls his child- hood, when "we would sit on the side of the interstate when trucks were coming up the ramp," he says. "We'd sit there and make them blow their horns." Ardis was among other drivers and owner-operators named as recipients of the inaugural Citizen Driver Awards from TravelCenters of America, announced at the Mid-America Trucking Show. Following the show, each driver had a tr avel center named after him or her. A lifelong truck stop connection Length of time drivers have been using e-logs More than 10 years 5-10 years 3-4 years 1-2 years Less than one year Overdrive 2014 ELD survey 6% 10% 21% 35% 28% Of the 12 percent of Overdrive readers who indicated they already were using electronic logs in our ELD survey conducted in late March, six in 10 had made the transition within just the last two years. While the vast majority of those making the recent transition were company drivers and leased owner-operators, those least likely to be required to outlay hard cash for purchase/use of the device – independents – were tilted even more heavily toward recent adoption. Close to eight in 10 indicated a switch to e-logs within the last two years. Jimmy Ardis, whose handle is "Monkey Gouger," lost his arm at a young age and successfully lobbied for an exemption to drive commercially. James Jaillet Voices_0714.indd 12 6/26/14 10:02 PM