Data in Action: The Hidden Benefits of Electronic Logging Devices

Over the course of the last few years, electronic logging devices have overtaken traditional logbooks. Save for a few exemptions, truck drivers in the United States are required to pair or equip their commercial vehicles with an ELD.

While numerous drivers and small business owners expressed concern about ELDs following the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) 2017 mandate, the technology isn't without value. With this post, let's take a look at how ELDs' data collection facilities may offer even more than they were originally intended to and how this could affect the future of ELDs in trucking.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The Purpose of ELDs

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According to the FMCSA, electronic logging devices are intended to “create a safer work environment for drivers of commercial motor vehicles, and make it easier and faster to accurately track, manage, and share data on driving and off-duty time.” In actuality, ELDs have achieved about half of this.

In 2019 (roughly a year and a half after ELDs became a requirement for motor carriers), FreightWaves reported on a study from Northeastern University, the University of Arkansas, and Michigan State University on the effectiveness of ELDs.

The study concluded that the ELD mandate had succeeded in increasing driver compliance with hours of service regulations, so it can be said that driving data is being tracked more accurately now than before ELDs became the standard. However, researchers also discovered that the FMCSA's mandate “had no significant effect on crash counts,” meaning the mandate's primary goal of creating a safer working environment for carriers had not been met at the time of the 2019 study.

Leveraging Data for Long Hauls

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If ELDs are only about half as effective as they were intended to be, what's there to be excited about? The short answer: Data.

On Oct. 12, Forbes council member Mathew Elenjickal published a piece that calls attention to the hidden value of ELDs' data-collection applications. Elenjickal argues that the same technology that ensures drivers comply with hours of service regulations could also be used to achieve the following:

• Automate appointments with receivers

• Track freight in real time

• Reduce deadheading by identifying empty trucks

• Detect temperature changes in reefers

• Transfer freight records digitally to limit physical contact during pandemic times

The Future of ELDs

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Whatever good they could potentially provide and headaches they will most certainly continue to inflict, it seems that electronic logging devices are here to stay. With that in mind, Elenjickal raises a valid point: If we already have the tools we need to make trucking easier, why don't we use them?

(For more on the topic of data-sharing, see one of our previous posts that goes over some concerns vehicle manufacturers have about the sharing of telematics data.)

Are you interested in an alternative to the standard trucking business model? If so, take a look at how Relaymile is reimagining trucking to provide drivers with a healthier, more consistent standard of work.