Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/778830
36 | Overdrive | February 2017 ELDS' EARLY ADOPTERS "He kept us there and then took us down to a truck stop and showed us how to fill out a log book," Lewis remembers. Over the years, he dealt with paper logs when needed, being outside of the air-mile radius. Then he increasingly found himself keeping logs as the business shifted further toward long-haul freight. Shortly after he got a contract hauling steel rebar from an area manufacturer, he came across an advertisement for Continental's VDO RoadLog electronic log, the only dedicated e-log that does not come with a monthly service fee. The sim- plicity of the logging device – about $700 for installation in the truck and a program on his desktop for transferring, review- ing and storing log data – was attractive. Likewise appealing was removing the hassle of keeping paper logs, not to men- tion the time saved on inspections. A sticker on his truck advertising his use of the system has helped at weigh stations, Lewis says. Give officers plenty of opportunity to "notice you've got an electronic log on your truck," and "they aren't going to bother you." Operationally, the switch was simple for him, he says, given his mix of busi- ness usually allows him to be in and out of a dock in an hour or less. Maxing out the 14 hours of on-duty time is a non- issue, he says. Saving time and hassles The biggest ELD hurdle for nine-truck JJ&T Trucking, says Jake Taylor, compa- ny co-owner with his wife, Christy, was less operational than technical. Learning the system that the Munith, Michigan- based fleet adopted three years ago when FedEx Ground required it of con- tractors, he says, presented a comfort- level issue for drivers and the back office. Ultimately, however, he describes it as simple and "not a big deal." Advantages of e-logs Overdrive 2016 operational survey (respondents could choose multiple answers) Time saved allows focus on more important business Prepares me for the mandate ahead of competition Easily shared information makes it easy to collect detention No advantages that I see Other 43% 42% 34% 42% 11% Among other benefits were reports of "no more interrogations at the scale house" with e-log use, in the words of one commenter. Others lauded time saved and positive operational impacts, including keeping "dispatchers honest," forcing them and operators themselves to plan better runs. Many saw either no net benefit or a safety negative in electronic logs, combined with setbacks in trip planning and back-office operations. One owner-operator reported: "I used to drive very conservative to get good mpg. Now I'm driving faster and driving in more dangerous conditions," given the pressure to complete tasks within rigid hours constraints. Buster Lewis, Gastonia, N.C.: hotshot flatbed Lewis has enjoyed the simplicity of Continental's VDO RoadLog and its absence of a monthly fee.