ELD mandate and crashes -- cause or correlation? Owner-operators weigh safety, training, more

Overdrive Radio

This edition of Overdrive Radio picks up where Overdrive News Editor Matt Cole left on in his reporting from mid-late October around truck-involved crash statistics in the four years prior to, and the four years after, implementation of the FMCSA's electronic logging device mandate, which began in earnest right at the end of 2017: https://www.overdriveonline.com/csas-data-trail/article/15301876/crashes-injuries-and-fatalities-up-posteld-mandate As many listeners and Overdrive readers have likely seen, Cole’s reporting illustrated clearly the generally higher rates of crashes post-mandate, even considering the 2020 year when statistics were way down with the big decline in motorist highway traffic amid the fear and uncertainty of the early COVID pandemic. So there’s a definite correlation between regulatory change in the ELD mandate and those negative safety impacts, but can we really determine there’s a cause there? Hard to say, given so many factors go into the cause of any crash, not least among those causal factors the “unprofessional” driving behavior of our four-wheeled friends. Just refer back to the 2020 year noted just earlier for evidence of that. The question of cause and effect around the ELD mandate, though, is certainly a conversation starter for Overdrive’s owner-operator audience. Attendant to Cole’s reporting, we surveyed owner-operators, and the overwhelming majority feel the mandate has at least contributed to safety-negative effects. In this podcast, hear a variety of viewpoints on the cause-and-effect question, both from contributing reporting from video editor Lawson Rudisll surveying owners about the ELD mandate and any safety connection, or lack thereof, and Matt Cole’s own interviews for the broader picture. We can’t count Michigan-headquartered small fleet owner Bud Davenport among the majority who see some safety impact from the mandate, exactly. Yet Cole’s talk with Davenport is instructive when it comes to the state of play for driver training that other owners feel has been exacerbated by the mandate. As referenced in the podcast, for some relief from the ticking-clock pressures of the 14-hour rule, the 2020-changed split sleeper allows for some mid-duty-period rest without losing duty time. Find something of a tutorial via this link: https://www.overdriveonline.com/channel-19/article/14897907/how-to-log-the-new-73-splitsleeper-in-the-hours-of-service PRIZE PACK OFFER FROM OVERDRIVE RADIO SPONSOR HOWES: Leave a message on Overdrive Radio's podcast line at 615-852-8530 with your name and location, and we'll get back in touch for your shipping information for a Howes prize pack featuring both Diesel Treat and Lifeline anti-gel fuel treatments, the Howes Multipurpose penetrating oil, and more swag from the company. Again, that’s 615-852-8530.