Overdrive

May 2016

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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26 | Overdrive | May 2016 T he elec- tronic log- ging device mandate will save carriers and drivers more than $1 billion a year, says the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin- istration. Or, judging by the criticism the rule has received from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Associa- tion and others, a net loss to the industry of nearly $700 million could be the result. Who's right? It depends on which assumptions are made. Federal agencies are required to conduct cost- benefit impact analyses when pushing regulations of eco- nomic significance, such as the ELD mandate. OOIDA's dispute of FMCSA's reckon- ing is a key element of its le- gal challenge to the mandate. The lion's share of the annual benefits side is the whopping $1.88 billion in time saved by drivers who no longer would have to fill out and submit paper log books, as FMCSA sees it. The agency estimates $1.8 billion in costs. That's $1 bil- lion for new ELD equipment and $790 million for train- ing, recruiting new drivers and other associated costs. Without the driver time savings, FMCSA's net benefit becomes a net cost to the industry of almost $700 million. And that's assuming FMCSA's $570 million in crash-reduction benefits are valid, an assumption OOIDA doesn't share. OOIDA filed a petition for review of the rule, released in December, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. It argues that the rule is "arbitrary and capri- cious" – a common legal phrase in challenges to regu- lation, says Minnesota-based Truckers Justice Center attorney Paul Taylor. The phrase in part dates to the 1976 case of Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Taylor says. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "in cases where a statute is unclear or ambiguous … the Courts must defer to the agency interpretation unless it is arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law." OOIDA charges FMCSA with being arbitrary in its failure to "provide any concrete assessment of the potential benefits of ELDs in Owner-operator Gary Buchs doesn't think the little time saved from using his electronic logging device is significant. ELD mandate: Big savings or big loss? BY TODD DILLS Courtesy of Gary Buchs SOURCE: FMCSA Regulatory Impact Analysis, ELD final rule $2.4 billion in time/paperwork saving Driver time saved completing logs $1.682 billion/ $558 per driver Savings on buying paper logs $127 million Motor carrier time saved handling logs $444 million Driver time saved submitting logs $195 million/ $65 per driver Costs and benefits $2.44 billion Driver and carrier time/paperwork savings + .57 billion Crash reduction 3.01 billion Total benefit — 1.84 billion Costs (ELDs, driver training and recruiting) $1.17 billion net benefit The major cost savings from the ELD mandate, according to FMCSA, come from reduced paperwork and processing by drivers and carriers. FMCSA'S ESTIMATES

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