Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/687054
June 2016 | Overdrive | 35 One main objective of the alliance, which represents some of the largest carriers, has been to push Congress and DOT to mandate ELDs. Relative to concerns about location tracking and privacy, Kidd says the devices record location only internally, and "it's all past tense by the time a roadside inspector or state agency auditor shows up." "I just don't see how the agency is going to in any way hurt the driver's privacy," he says. Moreover, Kidd says, the Obama administration leans heavily pro-labor, which should quell concerns that the ELD mandate is a gift to carriers wishing to abuse the reach of the devices. "No one could look at the agency, at least the last eight years under the Obama administra- tion, and say they were out to protect the interests of big carriers," he says. ELDs could be seen as anti-harass- ment tools, Kidd says, because they protect truckers from being asked to work over federally prescribed hours limits. Data derived from ELDs, another privacy-focused concern by the rule's detractors, also could strengthen both driver pay reform interests and efforts to curb unpaid detention time. Dean Newell, vice president of safety and training at Little Rock, Ark.-based Maverick USA, says the flatbed and stepdeck fleet's 100 or so owner-oper- ators were skeptical when it began the transition to ELDs in 2014. Newell says the ELD rule itself and the complemen- tary anti-coercion rule prevent carriers from intruding into drivers' off-duty personal time. "I think it's fear of the unknown," he says. "We're all like that. If our opera- tions guys got together and decided to take [ELDs] away from our owner-oper- ators, we'd have a revolt on our hands" because of owner-operators' acceptance of the devices. Still, says Spencer, the onus is on reg- ulators to justify a widespread mandate that some feel violates constitutional pro- tections. "The mandate goes way beyond where any reasonable entity should have gone," he says. "We knocked this down previously, and we're optimistic the same result will take place this time." Overdrive: 1/2 Page 7 x 4.5 Submit: Press Quality PDF, embed images and include registration marks. • Oversize/Overweight Permits • Trip Permits • Fuel Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits • Save time and leave your permit burden to us, so you can focus on your business • One call does it all — we'll work with each state for you Order Permits Now! KellerPermits.com 800-840-3451 PC 116562 24 / 7 SERVICE Untitled-3 1 5/16/16 10:14 AM What's being pro- posed as the standard for drivers isn't even permissible for sus- pected felons without a court order. — Todd Spencer, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association executive vice president