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Alan Hooper, research associate for ATRI.
If, however, you are moving your vehicle in order to get rest, which is required by law, because you have reached your max HOS, it can be classified as personal conveyance given you stop at the nearest, more reasonably safe location.
Top issues
The ELD mandate is the top concern for drivers, accord-
ing to the most recent list by
the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), and it’s not far behind for motor carrier executives.
Rounding out the Top 10 list of industry concerns for drivers were parking, HOS, economic impact of trucking regulations, driver dis- traction, CSA, health, driver reten- tion, infrastructure, and autono- mous vehicles.
For executives, the top issue is the driver shortage, which did not make the drivers’ list. ELDs were second, with driver retention, CSA, HOS, economic impact of regula- tions, infrastructure, driver dis- traction, parking, and tort reform rounding out the Top 10.
One of the main causes of the driver shortage, explained Alan Hooper, research associate for ATRI, is age, with the average age of today’s driver being around 45 and only one in five under the 35 years old.
“We’re facing a demographic cliff,” Hooper said of the high age demographic of truck drivers.
Hooper said the American Trucking Associations predicts a shortage of approximately 51,000, and could reach 174,000 by 2026.
Though commonly pointed to
as a culprit in the driver short-
age, wages have been on the rise
for several years, and is now the highest cost center for carriers, with an average cost per mile of $0.523, significantly high than any other factor, including fuel at $0.336.
ATRI also released its Top 10 most common predictors of why drivers get into collisions.
Reckless driving habits was top, making drivers 114% more likely to be in an accident. Failure to yield to right- of-way was second, proper lane con- viction, improper signal conviction,
a past crash, lane location, improper pass conviction, negligent driving conviction, erratic lane changes, and improper lane conviction made up the remainder of the Top 10.
“You really want to be aggres-
sive with your coaching so you can reduce their likelihood of getting into a crash,” said Hooper. “If you coach your drivers effectively, you can really mitigate whether your driver will be in a crash further down the road.”
Statistically, men are 20% more likely to get into a collision than women. TW
The good news since the imple- mentation of the U.S. ELD mandate is that HOS violations have declined dramatically, which DeLorenzo said is not a big surprise.
But there remain several areas
of the regulation that continue to confuse people and have caused issues during inspections.
DeLorenzo touched on three key aspects of the mandate that needed clarification, the first being what he called a simple one: make sure your driver know what device they are using.
Whether an ELD or AOBRD, a driver’s lack of knowledge of what they are using has caused issues during roadside inspections and dragged the process out.
“It’s maybe the most important thing you can do as a company,” DeLorenzo said of properly train- ing drivers on the use of ELDs and AOBRDs. “If they know what device they have, it will make process go a lot smoother.”
How to transfer data during an inspection was another area drivers need to have a good handle on.
With U.S. officers focusing
on HOS compliance during the early stages of the ELD mandate, DeLorenzo said there are times when e-log devices malfunction, and when this occurs, drivers can use the display screen, a PDF, or printout form the ELD as proof of compliance.
Drivers must make a note when a device malfunctions and carriers must maintain paper logs gener- ated during the malfunction. One of the most common causes of a malfunction is incorrect odometer readings.
FMCSA also urges drivers to use an ELD’s edits and annotations feature.
DeLorenzo said drivers would routinely make edits or an annota- tion on paper logs when something happened on the road, but few do the same with e-logs.
When drivers make an annota- tion, which are required to explain an edit, DeLorenzo said it is much easier for drivers to explain to an officer during an inspection.
The last topic DeLorenzo addressed was the usage of a truck for personal conveyance.
Unlike Canada, where there is a 75-km maximum on driving a com- mercial truck for personal reasons,
there is no limit in the U.S. Drivers, however, must remem-
ber that they are still subject to reg- ulations when driving for personal conveyance.
Determining whether a truck is being used for personal conveyance or for work purposes can be tricky. DeLorenzo underscored some common scenarios where it is not personal conveyance, such as any movement of a truck in order to enhance the operational readiness of a motor carrier; continuation of a trip in interstate commerce in order to fulfill a business purpose; time spent driving a passenger-car- rying commercial vehicle while passengers are on board; driving to have the vehicle maintained; and driving to a motor carrier’s termi- nal after loading or unloading from a shipper or receiver.
October 2018 • Truck West 21