Whether you are a small or large business, it’s never too late to look into solutions to protect and optimize your vehicles for the sake of protecting them. Personally speaking, my car is my baby. And by baby I mean she has a name, gets regular car washes…
… and is equipped with a dash cam. Basically, I love her. And because I love her so much, I do the best I can to protect her, for my own peace of mind.
If you own a fleet, your vehicles should be your babies too. They get your services/products to places they need to go, and your business probably wouldn’t be the same without them. So let’s discuss some ways you can protect them and sleep better at night.
Firstly, knowing the location of your vehicles would probably be the first thing that comes to mind. Currently, many different solutions exist for vehicle tracking and the one you choose would be based on your needs. GO7’s are essential in my book, as they provide your basic tracking functions as well as advanced diagnostics and driver behavior tracking. The reason I recommend GO7’s is mainly because of how seamlessly you can add more hardware or software depending on your needs. (Add-ons like ELD, & GoTalk for example) Plus, they are easily installed without any hardwiring, making them a good choice for fleets of any size. Simply put, if the GO7 could talk, it would be like…
On the other hand, let’s talk about those dash cams I mentioned earlier. Dash cams are the eyes of your vehicles, except they record what they see too. We hear stories every day about insurance fraud, hit and runs etc. What if you had proof of an incident? Would you be more likely to win your case and avoid large fees? Absolutely! Check out this video captured on a dash cam of a driver who bumped into another vehicle and tried to imply that it was the other driver’s fault –
“No, you reversed into me” – Lying driver caught out on dash cam
Unbelievable right? But it happens all the time. So take the necessary steps to protect your vehicles. They are your precious investment (aka your babies) and you deserve a peace of mind.
By definition, distracted driving seems pretty simple. If something is causing a driver to compromise their judgement while driving – it is considered a distraction. Typically, most people associate distracted driving with electronic devices. It has now become common knowledge that you absolutely cannot be using your phone while driving or even hold it in your hands. Well, unless your idea of fun includes paying up to $1000 and receiving three demerit points (not to mention a suspended license for 30 days for a first conviction).
Still sound like fun? No? Just don’t use your phone while driving. While that statement is applicable everywhere that roads exist, these consequences come directly from Ontario’s laws. So if you’re from Ontario, pay extra attention folks.
Now that we are familiar with the consequences of using an electronic device while driving, let’s discuss what else constitutes distracted driving according to the RCMP.
Did Matt’s infamous “shortcut” get you lost again? Well, you’re going to have to pull over and type your destination into the GPS when you aren’t driving.
Wondering if you missed any information in that document you just signed? You’ll need to wait until you are no longer driving in order to read it.
Is Friday by Rebecca Black blaring through your speakers? Well, you can apologise to your ears after you pull over because you can’t switch playlists while driving either.
Oh, and that burrito in the passenger seat that you just picked up? It might be calling your name but if you choose to eat it on the road, a distracted driving violation could be waiting for you too (Plus six demerits depending on the food).
Got it?
Basically, distracted driving isn’t only limited to the use of electronics. You could be combing your hair while merging to be found guilty of distracted driving. So let’s get into specifics, the following actions that are considered as distracted driving:
Talking on a cell phone
Texting
Reading (books, maps, newspapers for example)
Using a GPS navigator
Watching videos or movies
Eating /drinking
Smoking
Personal grooming
Adjusting the radio / CD
Playing extremely loud music
So What?
Look, rules are broken all the time. But when it comes to distracted driving, breaking the rules could mean the difference between life and death. In fact, 80% of collisions and 65% of near crashes have some form of driver inattention as contributing factors according to the National Highway Safety Administration. With statistics like those, companies have started to take preventative action by implementing ways to monitor distracted driving on the roads.
What’s Being Done About it?
Solutions like alert systems to tell drivers to slow down when they’re speeding, for example, can help create a safer environment on the road. GoFleet specifically offers solutions to act as deterrents for distracted driving; like their variety of cameras, hands-free communication alternatives, and cellphone disabling systems. A cool feature that we will see available on the market is Video AI. This technology processes facial contours to determine if people are distracted or not while they are driving, and sends notifications to managers. The system is able to detect when the driver is texting, eating, micro-sleeping, holding a phone, yawning and more. It can be suggested that reactions leading to crashes usually occur when the driver in question is being distracted while operating the vehicle. Technology is making big moves people!
Many companies run reports and try to further educate drivers on how to drive safely so fewer accidents occur due to distractions. What’s more, goFleet also offers solutions for disabling mobile devices while the driver is on a route, as well as intelligent cameras that recognize if the eyes are looking down, or if there’s a phone in your hand, if you’re eating and more! See our solutions by clicking here.
Okay so, just to clarify – no phone use while driving. At all.
Do not take your eyes off the road to pull out your lunch, and definitely do not try to do your makeup on the way to work. Anything that could limit you from being focused while driving should be avoided. Let’s work together to be more aware and keep the streets safer.
ELDs or Electronic Logging Devices are fairly new to the trucking world. Some people love them, others wish they never existed. But regardless of where you stand on the matter, you cannot deny that ELDs don’t have any benefits. Their primary uses include monitoring other driving habits in addition to driving hours, but that’s not all they’re useful for! Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits of an ELD together…
Do ELDs Improve Fleet’s Safety?
It comes as no surprise that 90% of accidents are influenced by driver behaviour. By using the driver coaching features that ELDs offer, driving habits can be made safer and reduce the likelihood of accidents occurring. Things like speeding, harsh braking or acceleration, and optimized routes can be easily tracked by ELDs and help to monitor drivers. These features allow future employers to have a track record of how the driver performed and was rated for safety – allowing fleet managers to hire the safest drivers and keep the roads free of accidents.
How not to drive trucks and cars:
(PS: Maintain those good driving habits people!)
Less Paperwork with ELDs
ELDs allow companies to go paperless, leaving no room for human error. They allow drivers to save time by not having to go through the tedious process of logging their hours individually. With ELDs, the need for drivers to fill in their logs by hand and have them faxed while they are on the road is eliminated. Without ELDs, inspections take longer because of the paperwork that has to be searched through to find errors or HOS violations. This leads to drivers waiting… and waiting……..and waiting…
But with ELDs, clear logs provide the information needed instantly, helping the repair shop identify the issue and help get the driver back on the road in no time! With the ability to monitor maintenance alerts, drivers can catch faulty issues before they become an even bigger, more time – consuming problem. Less time at a repair shop = more time on the road.
$ How ELDs Save Money?
With features such as driver coaching, another benefit of an ELD is it helps business save money. Why you ask? Believe it or not, 30% of fuel costs are influenced by driver behavior. Fear not however, because driver coaching features can actually help to improve fuel efficiency by up to 12% and reduce fuel usage by 18%! Another way ELDs help businesses save money is by optimizing the shortest routes for reduced fuel costs.
More on driver coaching, did you know distracted driving that leads to accidents impacts businesses in more ways than just inconvenience? It’s true. An accident drains a companies wallet in terms of legal expenses, for the driver and anyone else involved, as well as downtime and any replacement costs.
By keeping tabs on drivers and their activities, companies can save on costly federal audits with HOS data that’s more reliable than reports written by people. (Hey, we’re human – mistakes happen!) ELDs are also able to provide maintenance reports, this comes in handy when a driver knows about a problem before they get sidelined, and have to spend more money on last-minute repairs as well as downtime.
Optimization is incredibly important in any business. By having the right tools to retrieve data that can reveal areas where a business has been lacking and can improve previously unknown inefficiencies, it can be a surprise to see how much can be saved financially.
Companies understand that knowing where their assets are at all times is crucial. Whether this includes small tools or large equipment, keeping track of these assets helps companies prevent theft, loss, and damage. More so, ensuring a company’s assets are monitored can help save time and money- resulting in a more optimized, organized system. So how do you track equipment?
In recent years, beacons have been introduced to multiple industries for what appears to be a limitless amount of ways to utilize them to their full potential. Today we will be focusing on how some industries such as construction sites, hospitals, and warehouses have taken advantage of these beacons to track their equipment locations.
Bluetooth & Cellular Beacons – What’s the Difference?
Firstly, it is important to understand which companies would benefit from either Bluetooth or Cellular beacons. Simply put, Bluetooth beacons are a good option for companies who want to track their equipment in close proximity (a warehouse for example). Bluetooth beacons have limitations when it comes to their connectivity over long distances as they are limited to a specific range, but their advantage is that they are typically more cost-effective.
Cellular beacons, on the other hand, have more capabilities in terms of tracking equipment which are traveling longer distances, they also do not require mobile gateways and mobile apps to work unlike Bluetooth powered beacons.
Problem VS Solution
Losing equipment due to poor inventory management? Beacons help manage your inventory efficiently while saving you money. Arrived at a site only to find that equipment was forgotten? Beacons help ensure the equipment you require is in the vehicle before you leave.
Not only that, but they also have embedded sensors that can measure things like impact, battery life, temperature, light exposure, and proximity. These beacons can be attached to equipment, tools, controlled temperature environments, and personnel to track climate management, equipment inventory, parts inventory, and personnel tracking.
Equipment Tracking for Hospitals
Beacons have become a popular choice for hospitals because they help paramedics focus on saving lives instead of worrying about tracking their assets and emergency vehicles. They do this by helping paramedics know the location of stretchers, defibrillators, heart monitors and other important equipment.
By using the beacons, paramedics are able to receive immediate notifications for forgotten, lost or misplaced equipment while helping to uncover them by knowing who used them last and where. It is important for hospitals to track medical equipment and their usage with beacons as they streamline the maintenance of the equipment while saving money by eliminating loss and theft.
Equipment Tracking for Construction Companies
Construction companies are another popular industry that uses beacons regularly as they have multiple assets to monitor at construction sites – mainly large equipment. Because beacons can have waterproof enclosures and a range of 250 meters, they are a popular choice for construction companies to invest in, in order to monitor their small to heavy equipment.
Further, a permanent gateway for 24/7 inventory management can be installed. This way, when inventory leaves facilities it can be tracked along with the vehicle that transported the goods by tracking vehicles as they enter and leave a property or designated area. Upon arrival, the arrival time and location can be confirmed. Beacons also help construction companies save money by accurately costing jobs, reducing labor costs and overtime while improving worksite compliance.
Equipment Tracking for Warehouses
Warehouses keep track of endless kinds of goods, so they need a way to monitor different aspects in order to ensure the goods arrive at their final destination on time and in great shape. With the use of beacons, warehouses can receive real-time information on location, temperature, impact and light exposure as previously mentioned. These sensory additions to the beacons are crucial for sensitive goods.
Beacons provide the ability to track pallets in real time, confirm deliveries, and receive alerts when pallets enter or exit customer locations. With so many ways to optimize warehouse operations, beacons ultimately help to reduce labor costs as well as overtime in warehouse industries.
Knowing the benefits of beacons and how they can help improve operations in different industries can help optimize almost any business. Applying devices that help to monitor assets in more ways than just location is just the beginning; with the world of technology constantly evolving we are so excited to see where we go from here!
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One of the great things about fleet cameras is most fleet cameras include basic vehicle monitoring. For that reason, some businesses are replacing GPS systems with camera systems. Although this makes sense for light GPS tracking users, there are many benefits of using a Dash Cam with a GPS system.
In this post, we’ll explore two things. Firstly, we’ll discuss when fleets can use fleet cameras without additional GPS devices. Secondly, we’ll look at some benefits of using a GPS with a camera system.
When are fleet cameras enough for vehicle tracking?
Fleet cameras are enough when two things happen: (1) the fleet camera has a built-in GPS, and (2) the fleet only needs tracking for basic needs. This is because most fleet cameras record vehicle location and save a trip history, thus sufficing basic tracking needs.
When will fleets get benefits from a GPS with a camera system?
Sometimes, fleets need more than basic monitoring and significantly benefit from combining cameras and GPS solutions. The most common use cases include: wanting fuel and diagnostic data, following compliance rules, and simplifying office reporting.
Fleets want to record fuel & diagnostics.
One of the biggest fleet camera weaknesses is that fleet cameras don’t connect with the vehicle’s engine computer. Hence, cameras are not able to collect engine data such as fuel measurements or diagnostics codes.
On the other hand, one of the benefits of using a dash cam with a GPS system is getting engine data. For instance, Geotab devices work with OEMs to read and report thousands of engine codes. In turn, fleets can leverage that data to improve their maintenance process.
Fleets need to follow compliance rules.
Another use case includes complying with rules. A great example is the ELD mandate. The ELD mandate requires fleets to electronically verify driving hours.
While fleet cameras can verify driver location and driving time, it fails to connect those data to HOS rules. Instead, fleets need a dedicated vehicle monitoring device because these devices compare driving hours against regulation hours.
Fleets want to simplify office reporting.
Lastly, GPS tracking helps simplify office reporting whereas fleet cameras can only provide footage.
For instance, consider time card reports. While administrators can match driver footage, driving records, and payroll together, this takes a lot of time. Instead, a vehicle tracking solution is more intuitive. Many vehicle trackers use driver log-in technology to match drivers to time cards.
Combining solutions improve reporting!
In summary, while fleet cameras are sufficient in some cases, combining a dash cam with a GPS system provide much more information. This is seen in fleets that want to manage fuel reporting, stay in compliance, and simplify reporting.
Like this blog? Check out our other blogs on fleet dash cameras and GPS tracking!
John’s company uses fuel cards. Fuel cards are convenient because employees like John can buy fuel with company money. However, more importantly for John, he occasionally uses his company card to buy fuel for his personal car. In other words, John is committing a rather common offense called fuel card fraud.
Fuel Card Fraud Costs Big Money
John might point out that he’s only taking a few dollars here and there.
That being mentioned, businesses lose tons of money because of people like John. In particular, there are two big costs.
Accounting resources. Secondly, fuel card fraud has hidden accounting costs. A lot of businesses try fighting against fuel card fraud by auditing fuel purchases. However, in order to audit purchases, businesses spend time and money.
Using Fuel Card Integration to Reduce Fraud
Nowadays, many businesses are avoiding fuel card fraud by automating fuel purchase auditing. One of those companies is Entergy, a publicly listed energy company.
Entergy uses a process called “fuel card integration”. Fuel card integration combines purchasing data with vehicle forensic evidence such as vehicle location and fuel engine levels.
Fuel card integration eliminates fuel card fraud by flagging suspicious transactions. For instance, consider the following 3 measures.
Location & Log
Location and log measures a company vehicle’s location and driving hours. Fuel card integration triggers an alert if there is a fuel card purchase but the company vehicle is not in the area.
This is an extremely useful alert because it targets the most common fuel card fraud where drivers fuel a personal car instead of a company car.
Fuel Level
Fuel level corresponds to changes in a company vehicle’s fuel tank during fuel purchases. There is an alert if an employee uses a fuel card but their company vehicle’s fuel level doesn’t change.
Fuel level alerts provide an additional protection layer because it detects thieves who use fuel cards on an empty jerry can.
Match
Lastly, fuel cards look at match measures. In other words, fuel card integration checks if fuel goes into the correct vehicle.
This is useful for cutting down on company policy violations where employees use fuel cards for a coworker’s vehicle.
Fuel card integration is only one of several fuel card best practices. Click here to read an article on other best practices.
ADAS, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, help drivers stay safe on the road. In fact, in a recent fleet management survey, ADAS are one of the biggest industry trends because of their accident prevention capability.
To illustrate, think about ADAS like Batman thinks of his Batmobile – a vehicle enhancer! Although ADAS does not shoot out webs, they have sensors that detect impending collisions and warn drivers.
An example of a ADAS is Mobileye. Ricardo Ruffino, Regional Sales Manager at Mobileye explains their popularity. “According to studies, human error causes 94% of collisions”, said Ruffino. “That’s a huge number and part of our job at Mobileye is to prevent those accidents and make our roads safer.”
What is ADAS Used For?
Another good question is what is ADAS used for. There are different use cases but we’ll start with Mobileye’s sensors.
Some examples of sensors include Forward Collision Warning, Headway Monitoring & Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Pedestrian & Cyclist Collision Warning.
Forward Collision Warning
Perhaps the first sensor that comes to people’s minds are Forward Collision Warning sensors. These sensors detect when a vehicle is about to hit another vehicle ahead of them. When a collision is imminent, it make an audible sound for the driver to stop.
Distracted driving is a good example. A bussing company used Mobileye, and as a result, directly prevented an accident. A distracted bus driver did not notice that the vehicle ahead braked. However, because the Mobileye sounded, the driver braked the bus before it hit the other vehicle.
Headway Monitoring & Warning
Comparatively to Forward Collision Warnings, Headway Monitoring & Warning provide preventative warning ahead of collisions. Mobileye’s sensor uses an algorithm to compare vehicle speed and objects ahead. If a driver follows the leading vehicle too closely, the Mobileye will warn the driver to create more room.
Lane Departure Warning
Another useful sensor is the Lane Departure Warning. Lane departures are an important driving event because 60% of fatal collisions involve a vehicle that leaves its lane. If a driver is veering off the road, Mobileye will warn them to stay in their lane.
Pedestrian & Cycling Warning
Lastly, Mobileye detects and warns drivers if they are about to hit a pedestrian and cyclist. This is especially relevant because of recent traffic trends. For instance, even though the City of Toronto designed an initiative called “Vision Zero” to eliminate fatal pedestrian and cyclist collisions, pedestrian deaths are still rising.
How effective are ADAS?
Finally, some people might be wondering what is ADAS’s success rate or how to sell it to a boss. “In summary, we have several success stories,” said Ruffino. “For instance, we had a pilot with a Dutch safety board. We installed Mobileye in 2000 vehicles and recorded no collisions during the pilot. In contrast, a non-Mobileye test group of 500 vehicles had 5 collisions during that time.”
ELDs were a big industry item in 2017 because of the ELD mandate. It’s now making industry headlines in 2019. In this article, we’ll discuss who needs ELDs & who is exempt from ELDs in 2019.
What’s the buzz about ELDs in 2019?
ELD compliance will be on the radar again for 2019 fleet news for two reasons. Firstly, fleets with AOBRDS will need to upgrade to ELDs as the “grandfather clause” exemption expires in December 2019. Secondly, the industry is anticipating an announcement for the Canadian ELD mandate in 2019.
Who needs ELDs?
Who needs ELDs in 2019? Long story short, drivers will need to use an ELD if they are required to fill Records of Duty logs and if they are operating in an ELD-mandated region. As of the beginning of 2019, ELDs are mandated in the US, Europe, and other spots around the world. There will be an ELD mandate in Canada but lawmakers have not finalized a timeline.
Who needs Records of Duties?
A sub-question, then, is who need needs Records of Duties. The answer depends on your region. For instance, Ontario drivers must follow the MTO Rules. The MTO Rules specify that every CVOR-certified driver, every vehicle with a registered weight over 4500kg, and commercial vehicles carrying 10 or more people must keep a Record of Duty.
Because of differing rules and regions, we recommend looking on your regional transportation authority’s official website for an updated list.
Who is exempt from ELDs?
Another thing to note is there are some exemptions for ELDs. Who is exempt from ELDs in 2019? Similar to our discussion on Record of Duty, ELD exemptions vary depending on your region.
We’ll focus our discussion on the American FMCSA exemptions because experts expect similar Canadian exemptions. Three exemptions include infrequent Records of Duty, driveaway-towaway service, and pre-2000 vehicles.
Infrequent Records of Duty
Specifically, if a driver keeps Records of Duty for 8 or fewer days in a 30-day period, they are exempt from ELDs. This is most frequently applied to short-haul businesses that rarely go on jobs beyond the Record of Duty radius.
Driveaway-Towaway
Another category is driveaway-towaway services. These services hire contract workers to drive other business’s vehicles. Due to the nature of their work, they are also exempt from ELDs.
Pre-2000 Vehicles
Lastly, pre-2000 vehicles are exempt from the ELD mandate. These trucks do not have onboard computers, and as a result, are not compatible with sharing vehicle data to ELDs.
Summary: Research is Key!
In summary, ELD rules can get confusing. Who needs ELDs? Who is exempt? Ultimately, answers vary based on each fleet’s jurisdiction. Companies that are required to switch over to ELDs in 2019 and beyond should prioritize research to discover their personalized answer.
Disclaimer: “Who Needs ELDs & Who is Exempt” references the MOT and FMCSA website. However, this information may become out of date and inaccurate and readers should not substitute this article for official legal documents.
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Consider the following case. Two fleet owners got together and talked about their insurance. Their fleets used the same insurers and had a similar history, so the business owners expected to pay similar premiums. However, to the surprise of both owners, one of the companies was paying significantly less on their premiums. Why?
The difference was that one fleet used fleet cameras while the other fleet did not. Just like the fleet owner with higher premiums, many people wonder why dash cams lower insurance rates.
Why do dash cams lower insurance rates?
Insurers reduce rates whenever a client is considered less risky or whenever a solution reduces business costs. Hence, many insurers categorized fleet cameras a risky reducing and a money saving solution because fleet cameras reduce false claims, reduce client accident rates, and saves admin time.
Dash cams reduce false claims.
Firstly, dash cams lower insurance rates by reducing false claims. False claims are extremely relevant for fleet operations because 80% of company drivers are not responsible for an accident involving commercial vehicles.
Hence, dash cams protect drivers by capturing incidents. In turn, insurers are also off the hook from covering the accident when cameras prove their client’s innocence.
Dash cams reduce accident rates.
Secondly, dash cams lower insurance rates by reducing accident rates. Drivers are much more likely to drive safer when cameras are monitoring them. Additionally, many fleets use fleet cameras as a training tool by recording and reviewing incidents.
Dash cams reduce insurance admin work.
Thirdly, dash cams lower insurance rates by reducing an insurer’s admin cost. Dash cams reduce admin cost because getting a video footage significantly shortens the insurance claim cycle.
To illustrate this point, consider filing an insurance claim. What does a claimer need to provide? Traditionally, claimers need to send facts by taking pictures and providing witness statements. In other words, insurers need to constantly ask their client for more information. In contrast, a video footage provides all of that information and eliminates a long claim process.
Insurance & fleet cameras will continue to be closely aligned.
In summary, both insurers and their clients see fleet cameras as a useful tool. In fact, many insurers now have fleet cameras as a mandated item for their clients and incentivize their clients for their investment. With the continued growth of dash cameras, we anticipate continued collaboration between the insurance industry and the dash camera industry.
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The American Transportation Research Institute recently published its top 2018 trucking industry challenges. 2018 trucking industry challenges include Driver Shortages, Stringent HOS Rules, Driver Retention, ELD Mandate Concerns, and Trucking Parking Shortages.
In this post, we’ll discuss each of the five trucking industry challenges and examine how fleets are handling them.
1.Driver Shortages
Driver shortages plagued the trucking industry for the past few years. In fact, last year, I wrote an article about driver shortage. Experts predicted that there will be a shortage of 200,000 drivers by 2020 because of aging drivers and declining youth interest.
If younger people are not going into trucking and older drivers are retiring, does this mean truck drivers are endangered? Not necessarily. A recent trucking trend is an increase in immigrant drivers. Hence, a lot of fleets are recruiting immigrant drivers for handling driver shortage.
A good case study is trucking giant Day & Ross. Day & Ross are using innovative training tools to attract immigrant drivers. For example, Day & Ross added driving simulators to traditional training to break down communication barriers between drivers and trainers.
2.Stringent HOS Rules
Another trucking industry challenge is stringent HOS rules. Many drivers and organizations are lobbying the FMCSA to loosen rules. According to some people, HOS rules are not reflective of real life situations.
For instance, as we’ll discuss later in this article, a common concern is when drivers can’t find parking lots. Drivers are still on the clock when they can’t find parking and will be fined for a HOS violation if caught.
For now, the FMCSA recommends fleets and drivers to adapt to current laws while the agency reviews possible changes.
3.Driver Retention
Driver retention is similar to the driver shortage issue. Since drivers are in high demand, trucking companies compete against each other for drivers. Hence, a lot of fleets are working on driver retention. How are fleets improving driver intention?
The biggest trucking industry change is that a lot of fleets are hiring HR professionals. For many years, fleets promoted ex-drivers into recruiting and retention. Although ex-drivers are well-respected, fleets are finding a lot of success in hiring experienced HR professionals.
HR staff have significant experience in employee engagement and retention. For instance, Elise Leeson is the VP of HR at Averitte Express. Leeson’s company is in the Top 100 list of largest for-hire carriers. Some of her successful retention strategies include creating a driver-friendly company culture and improving driver benefits.
4.ELD Mandate Concerns
The ELD Mandate is still a trucking industry challenge even though it’s been a year after its enactment.
Some trucking firms are struggling with underperforming vendors. For instance, one trucking company owner commented that his vendor did not update their ELD program after the FMCSA introduced new exemptions.
In addition, other truck fleets are transitioning from AOBRDs to ELDs. The FMCSA granted a two-year grandfather clause for AOBRD users. However, as of December 2019, AOBRD fleets need to research and upgrade to an ELD provider.
5.Truck Parking Shortage
Speaking of the ELD mandate, some truckers are blaming the mandate for parking lot shortages. However, Darrin Roth, the VP of Highway Policy at the American Trucking Association disagrees.
Roth claims that there are more spare parking lots than demanded. The biggest issue is that drivers are not finding open parking spots. A lot of drivers use phone apps for locating empty parking spots. Unfortunately, a lot of parking lot apps have outdated information. Hence, truckers are recommended to use apps that reserve parking spots.
What other trucking industry challenges are affecting the community? Let us know in the comments.
