Truck drivers normally do not receive an hourly wage for compensation for delivery services, but they do receive compensation for miles driven. Because terms of payment are related to distance driven and not hours worked, many truck drivers will falsify their logbooks to make it appear as if they have driven for fewer hours than they really have. Truck drivers feel they have to falsify paperwork because most state laws prohibit truck drivers from driving in excess of 14 hours per day. Documenting hours driven in paper logbooks has been the standard approach for truck drivers to account for those miles driven and hours worked, but now GPS tracking systems may put an end to the paper-logging of data.
GPS vehicle tracking technology has been thriving within businesses over the last 5 years, documenting driving-relevant data such as miles and hours driven. Since GPS trackers can unambiguously record driving-relevant data effectively, they are now being looked at as the long-term solution to the paper logbooks most truck drivers use and that have a high frequency of being falsified. In fact, many states are requiring truck drivers to utilize electronic logging devices for records. Truck driving companies, metropolitan cities, and small and large businesses with mobile assets have all been successfully using GPS tracking systems to boost employee effectiveness and accountability.
Schneider National Inc. To Use Vehicle Tracking Systems
With the increase of potential apocryphal logbooks being turned in by truck drivers, Schneider National Inc. has chosen to begin using fleet GPS tracking on their 13,000+ employees. The GPS tracking systems will allow Schneider National Inc. to have 24-hour access to a truck driver’s location, miles driven, and hours spent in the field, reducing or eliminating a situation where a truck driver could counterfeit driving logs. Dan Osterberg, Schneider Nationals senior V.P. of safety, stated that the over ten million dollar initiative to begin using GPS tracking devices was necessary for the freight-transportation company to begin modernizing the company mobile assets and tackle the very serious issue of driver’s inaccurate documentation of hours driven.
Truck Drivers Have Complaints About GPS Trackers
The majority of truck drivers who are being forced into using GPS trackers to document travel-related information over old-fashioned paper-log books are not pleased with the implementation of the technology. Truck drivers have resisted the GPS tracking system technology for years, but it now appears that vehicle tracking devices will likely be the future of recording driving information. One truck driver explained that the advantage of using logbooks is that if a truck driver ever gets stuck in major traffic that the time stuck in traffic can be documented as non-drive time. However, real-time GPS tracking will view time stuck in traffic as driving time, not non-driving time, further reducing a truck driver’s ability to stay in the field.
Another problem with the GPS tracking device approach is that if a truck driver has reached the 14-hour driving mark, but is only 5 minutes away from their final destination, they would be required to pull over and rest. This is addressed in the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) ELD Mandate.
Unfortunately for most truck drivers who oppose the GPS auto tracking initiatives, almost all freighting and trucking companies are transitioning to paperless documentation of driving-related information and real-time GPS technology.
Thoughts On Electronic Logging Devices For Truck Drivers
Should regulations be changed regarding the amount of time a truck driver can spend on the road if certain circumstances present a case where a driver may not be tired?
Is GPS tracker technology going to result in safer truck drivers?
Will truck drivers find a way to manipulate the GPS tracking systems the same way they manipulate logbooks?