As time runs out for U.S. truckers to upgrade to electronic logging devices that track how long they’re on the road, data from drivers who’ve made the switch appears to indicate that the controversial systems are working as intended to make trucking safer.
Trucking companies and independent truckers operating Class 8 commercial vehicles were required to start using the devices, known in the industry as ELDs, in December 2017. A U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) division that monitors the industry mandated the devices to ensure trucking companies comply with existing driver hours-of-service rules. The rules limit drivers to working 14 hours in a day, including 11 hours of driving, as a way to promote truck driver safety and prevent crashes.
