ELDs: Five Reasons to Do It Now

Nearly everyone who works as a fleet manager or in the trucking industry has been preparing for the ELD Final Rule — the requirement that fleets must be equipped with electronic logging devices (ELDs), with the first deadline on December 18, 2017.

For some, “preparing” means anticipating this end date by making sure to have their ELDs up and running before then. For others, it means thinking about it and then putting off this move until the last minute — the business equivalent of holiday shopping on December 24.

From past experience, those gift buyers know that postponing the inevitable is far from the ideal or least-stressful way to get a job done. It also, usually, produces an outcome that could have been better for all concerned.

In the case of ELDs, acting sooner rather than later can be better, not only in the sense of making sure you get the solution most suited to your needs. More importantly, setting up your ELD system now will bring you immediate benefits that with any other business decision you could not imagine yourself passing up.

Here are five benefits that you can realize as soon as your ELDs are in place:

Lower fuel costs. With improved routing made possible by simplified two-way communication, and a handle on driving issues such as engine idling time, fuel consumption may be reduced by as much as 30 percent.

Higher productivity and profits. This improved routing also allows you and your drivers to complete more jobs during the day or the week, and collect more revenue.

Decreased maintenance costs and longer equipment life. Automated monitoring of engine and vehicle systems data lets you schedule needed maintenance or repairs before little problems turn into big ones.

Minimized violations. ELDs will alert drivers before they exceed the permitted hours of service, so they (and you) can avoid racking up fines.

Improved personnel retention. Once your driver logs are being maintained automatically instead of requiring tedious paperwork, the men and women behind the wheel discover an increase in job satisfaction and quality of life. Your employee turnover—and the related replacement and training expenses—go down.

We know why the government passed this legislation: Based on the studies conducted, they expect ELDs to improve highway safety and reduce accidents by decreasing driver fatigue, while providing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) with better and more verifiable records and encouraging stricter compliance. That’s a worthwhile goal for all of us. But this is one of those fortunate circumstances in which the interests of government and fleet managers coincide.

Those businesses that took an in-depth look at the issue have already adopted the technology—because they found that ELDs provide real advantages. Why wait, when these benefits are available right now?

Click here to learn more about Teletrac Navman's ELD compliant solution.