ELD for Truckers
The ELD final rule is a part of MAP-21, which went into effect in 2017. The rule was passed in a bid to ensure the safety of drivers by creating a safe environment and making it easier to track and manage their duty records.
The ELD mandate was formulated to ensure that the fleets produce driver records for the Department of Transportation (DOT). It was important to shed some work of the drivers by eliminating the manual filing of driving records and helping the drivers to improve their efficiency alongside keeping them safe.
What is an Electronic Logging Device (ELD)?
ELDs are electronic logging device that is connected to the vehicle’s engine control module unit and records log automatically.
What is the ELD Mandate?
The FMCSA has certain rules and regulations for the Hours of Service (HOS) that limits the number of hours a driver can drive in a single day. Usually, the number of hours is recorded manually and there is no transparency and often the hours of service limit is breached by the drivers.
ELD Mandate makes it mandatory for fleet owners to equip their vehicles with an electronic logging device to record the duty hours, which aims to cut down on driver fatigue to reduce road accidents.
Why the ELD Mandate is important?
It is believed that driver fatigue is one of the major reasons for road accidents. As per the mandate, most of the commercial motor vehicles need to have an electronic logging device to keep track of the duty hours and analyses the driving pattern of the drivers.
This will make it mandatory for drivers to follow the legal limit and help in analysing the vehicle, driving pattern and track the location of the vehicle and drivers. FMCSA strongly believes that this will help in creating a safe environment for drivers and it will reduce their load.
Which is the best ELD in 2020?
TXT ELD is considerably the best ELD device in 2020 with amazing features to improve the day-to-day fleet operations along with saving money and time for the fleet owners and drivers.
What are the features of TXT ELD?
TXT ELD has many features at a reasonable price when compared to the other vendors available in the market. The features make this ELD more popular among the existing devices in the market.
Features:
- Unlimited LTE Network Data
- 100% ELD Compliance
- DVIR/PTI (Vehicle Inspection)
- Over the Air Firmware Updates
- Automatic Updates on Driver ELD’s Application
- Live GPS Tracking
- Two-Way Messages
- Customized Alerts & Notifications
- IFTA Fuel Tax & Reporting (State-Wise and Unit-Wise Mileage)
- Vehicle Diagnostics/Engine Fault Codes
- Driver On-Road Behavior Monitoring/Reporting
- Driver Scorecard
- Vehicle Route History
Benefits:
- Increase Fleet Safety
- Simplify Compliance
- Minimize Administrative Burden
- Increase Productivity & Efficiency
- Route Management & Optimization
- Reduce Liabilities & Lower Insurance Premium
- Optimize Fuel Usage
- Reduce Operational Cost
FMCSA HAS LAID OUT GUIDELINES FOR USE OF ELDs:
- Use of telematics technology: Telematics technology enables electronic transmission of data to the authorized officials. In case of any compliance related investigation, the data must be accessed by authorized officials.
- Automated Entries: All ELD compliant devices should have tracking and recording features. It should enable automated recording of driver’s behavior, engine diagnostic data, unsafe driving pattern etc. These features will help in managing any fleet efficiently.
- Duty Status Graph for drivers: ELD must have a display for driver’s activities which must include information about driver’s activity like driver is on-duty or off-duty, driving or idling etc.
- Edits and adding remarks: ELD device should have edit option and for adding any remarks by the drivers. However, this should not overwrite the including notes but it should store the edited version.
- Engine Diagnostic Data: ELDs should be able to detect any issue with vehicle engine and push alerts to the drivers. It should be able to automatically detect any system malfunctions, tracking, data synchronization etc.
How TXT ELD can help truckers to save time and money?
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Regulatory Impact Analysis for ELDs, the device aims to cut down major administrative costs.
Savings estimate from paperwork annually:
- HOS filling: $487 per year approximately
- HOS submission: $56 per year approximately
- Clerk filing HOS: $120 per year approximately
- No logbooks: $42 per year approximately
According to the estimate, a total of $705 is saved annually as paperwork savings. This is just an estimate. ELDs are expected to reduce the time required to maintain log by 4.5 minutes per HOS or around 20 hours annually as per FMCSA.
Also, it saves around 2 hours every year, the time required for drivers to forward the HOS to carriers.
ELD Mandate makes it mandatory for fleet owners to equip their vehicles with an electronic logging device to record the duty hours, which aims to cut down on driver fatigue to reduce road accidents.
The FMCSA strongly believes that the ELD mandate will avoid thousands of road accidents annually and end up saving billions of dollars as paperwork expenses.
There are other ways TXT ELD can save money for fleet owners:
Fuel Costs: With live GPS tracking feature, fleet owners can monitor speed, manage routes and understand the pattern to improve their services.
Road Accidents: FMCSA estimates that the use of ELDs will reduce crash rates by at least 11%
Compliance: Truckers using ELD can meet other compliance requirements like IFTA Fuel Tax Reports and Inspection Reports.
Avoid violations and tickets
TXT ELD comes with the minimal monthly subscription ranging between $19 and $40. We have four tailor made plans for our clients categorized as Basic, Pro, Pro Plus and Premium plans.
Each of these plans have a certain set of features and the better plan you choose the more features you unlock. If you choose our premium plan, then there is no upfront cost and ELD hardware comes free with premium plan monthly subscription.
TXT ELD uses the technology, which is a comprehensive system for managing day-to-day fleet operations. TXT ELD uses smart telematics to enhance the efficiency and ensure safety of truck drivers.
Write to us or call us. The deadline is approaching. TXT offers a 24/7 Multi-Language technical support team that is always available to help you.
Toll-Free
1-833-TXT-ELOG (898-3564)
