GPS Tracking And Hours Of Service (HOS)

… Our Senators and House members should support putting recording devices in big rigs and other commercial trucks.

New Jersey’s representatives in Washington should work to make our highways safer by voicing their support for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s effort to get more trucking companies to install devices on trucks that make sure drivers don’t stay behind the wheel for more than 11 hours at a time…. Thus saith the Camden (NJ) Courier-Post regarding over the road truck drivers going beyond their allowable hours of service and endangering themselves and other drivers.

Now if this were the ordinary public outcry for yet another new law or regulation I wouldn’t even dignify it with a comment, let alone support it. But this issue is one of those narrow niches where the government actually could do something of benefit to all by virtue of pushing recalcitrant trucking firms to put down the 19th century buggy whips they still use and move into the 21st century in driver management (and net business bottom-line profits as well). Here’s some of the issue and why this may indeed be one of those laws that will do more good than harm.

Fatigue already figures as a factor in a lot of commercial vehicle accidents. The industry already has an extensive and comprehensive set of regulations known as the Federal Hours Of Service rules. The rules are proven, comprehensive (even arguably over-comprehensive) and difficult to comply with.

Since rigid compliance with the rules will limit the miles a driver can run in a day or week … which affects the take home pay of the driver and the profits of his employer .. the rules are, at the very least, skirted on a regular basis. To a large extent the rules are broken and various schemes are used to try to hide the unlawful deviations from the law and good sense.

Drivers must maintain a “log book” which is designed to document their activities every hour of every duty day … driving … on duty but not driving … off duty (but awake) and sleeping. If used a designed the log book provides the driver a way to know his status at all times and allows a law enforcement official to instantly check the drivers HOS legality as well. All sounds good and regulatory enough, doesn’t it?

The problem today is the average driver doesn’t even call the log book a “log book”. The common name in the trade is the “swindle sheet”. Drivers routinely fill out the log book after the fact or even keep two or more sets of log books so that when stopped for a check they an present a wholly fictitious document that purports they are legal when, in fact, they often are not. The trade papers are routinely full of employers who get caught participating in or even forcing these scams on drivers as well … and that is only the ones who get caught … the tip of the iceberg.

Today, simple and cheap digital recording devices could take the place of these notorious pager scams easily and cheaply. You can bet I would recommend a recorder which also provides GPS tracking information. Using GPS along with HOS regulation will provide the following benefits:

• Enhanced safety (immeasurable costs savings)
• A minimum of 10% (often much higher) fuel savings (thousands per year for a big rig)
• 10% reduction in off-route miles driven
• Near-foolproof protection of drivers and company owners from false claims of HOS violations, dangerous driving, violation of truck route restrictions, etc.
• Enhanced driver/employer relations (proven good drivers get reworded, proven bad drivers get a pink slip)
• Enhanced company/customer relations … no more arguments about when the truck arrived for loading or unloading or where the truck has been for the past three days.
• Early detection of expensive engine and chassis faults … avoiding thousands in repair bills.

A decent system can be purchased, installed and properly implemented for well under $1,000 per vehicle. Depending on the model and features chosen the monthly cost can be as low as nothing, nada, zero. The payback (ROI) will occur typically in 6 months or less … I’ve had clients who made back their investment in well under 90 days … a great rate of return). If you are a driver, company owner or investor, act now and save the possibility of being harassed by even more regulations. If you’re a private citizen … get on your law makers about making the roads safer and saving big money on transportation charges, which we all pay, even when we buy a can of beans at the supermarket.