Drag Illustrated Issue 125, September 2017 | Page 40

Dirt
the ELD technology is developed enough to do
what everyone says it will do. The Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration has not written
required standards for the ELDs and is allowing
vendors to self-certify that the device will meet
whatever standards the agency finally adopts. At
the September 2017 FTR Transportation Confer-
ence in Indianapolis, the attendees were warned
that some of those who are transitioning to ELDs
may be facing unexpected problems. Issues in-
clude lost productivity, driver turnover, customer
expectations, the availability of ELD units, and
even whether or not the units will perform as
advertised—and as required by the regulations.
Speakers such as carrier safety consultant and
former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra-
tor Annette Sandberg stated, “We’re going to start
to see a lot of activity in this area. I’m getting
a lot of questions from carriers about how to
implement quickly, what vendors to pick,” Sand-
berg said. “But my biggest concern, as a former
regulator, is the number of ELD vendors that are
currently on the FMCSA ELD
list that probably shouldn’t be.”
She reported being asked to
work with a 3,000-truck car-
rier that was concerned “some-
thing wasn’t quite right” with
the ELDs it had installed. “It
was apparent at the end of the
first day that this device should
never have been self-certified,”
Sandberg said. “It wasn’t even
minimally compliant with the
automatic on-board recording
device regulation that’s been in
effect for 20 years.”
It should not be surpris-
ing that the self-certification
process has allowed some
noncompliant devices in the
marketplace when even the
agency that is supposed to
manage the device standards
cannot tell you what it is going to require when
it gets around to writing the standards.
Drivers and companies are being asked to play
blind man’s bluff in more ways than the choosing
and buying of the ELDs. They cannot be sure
about the fairness or even the predictability of
the enforcement of the regulations. Speaking of
fairness, you might want to wade through the
regulations. They are free on the internet for any-
one to read, and they are about as clear as mud.
ELDs will not reduce paper work. The devices
are so unreliable that FMCSA has kept the re-
quirement to carry the paper logs for use in the
event of ELD failure, as well as eight supporting
documents, even after December 18, 2017, date
for the new regulations.
Make no mistake! The ELD technology does
nothing to advance highway safety; rather it is
a stealth “revenue enhancement” for the state
and federal governments. This ploy will increase
revenue for state governments through fines and
costs on the trucking industry, which will pass the
costs to the unsuspecting consumer or go broke.
The cost of shipping by truck overall is expected
to increase in 2018 as capacity further tightens.
“The combination of multiple hurricanes,
strengthening spot market conditions, and the
final push towards ELD implementation means
trucking is ready to shift into a higher gear,” ex-
plained Jonathan Starks, COO. “…Spot rates
were up double-digits versus last year before
the hurricanes hit and have surged further since
then.” When you add in the productivity reduc-
tions as ELDs are fully implemented, shipping
costs are going to increase. The only question is
by how much?
In addition to an adverse impact on racing
teams and truck drivers by the premature im-
position of the ELD mandate before the devices
are really ready for use in law enforcement, the
economic impact is likely to be severe on certain
communities and areas. I worry about what it may
do to race attendance and participation.
The requirement of the ELD in areas of spotty
or complete lack of cell tower
service will make shipping
services for rural and remote
communities more expensive
and difficult to obtain. Draw
a circle of 150 miles around
major shipping centers. Those
communities outside the 150
miles are where the ELDs
mandate will most likely harm
the economy. Within the cir-
cle of 150 miles of the truck
home port, if the driver does
not leave the area more than
eight days a month, the ELD
will not be required and paper
logs remain legal. That does
not mean shipping costs will
not increase, but the increase
is likely to be less onerous.
Last but not least, the ELD threatens the
economy of the entire country by placing an un-
due burden of increased shipping costs without
improvement in services. It is an invisible “you
do not see it coming” equivalent of a sales tax
increase of seven percent. The stealth attack on
consumers’ wallets is underway – the consumers
will never know what happened. Estimates vary,
but a conservative estimate is that ELDs will
increase the cost of shipping products by seven
percent, which then will cause an increase in sales
price of the products. Sales prices determine the
amount of sales tax and the states (except for
Montana) will collect more taxes. The consumer
will pay more for products and more for taxes and
never know what happened!
Drag racing teams are not exempt. They do
not have any waivers from the increased costs
of products and transportation hassles of ELDs
to and from the race tracks.
Call the White House and send tweet storms
to President Trump to #delayELD.
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