Drag Illustrated Issue 125, September 2017 | Page 40

Dirt the ELD technology is developed enough to do what everyone says it will do. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has not written required standards for the ELDs and is allowing vendors to self-certify that the device will meet whatever standards the agency finally adopts. At the September 2017 FTR Transportation Confer- ence in Indianapolis, the attendees were warned that some of those who are transitioning to ELDs may be facing unexpected problems. Issues in- clude lost productivity, driver turnover, customer expectations, the availability of ELD units, and even whether or not the units will perform as advertised—and as required by the regulations. Speakers such as carrier safety consultant and former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra- tor Annette Sandberg stated, “We’re going to start to see a lot of activity in this area. I’m getting a lot of questions from carriers about how to implement quickly, what vendors to pick,” Sand- berg said. “But my biggest concern, as a former regulator, is the number of ELD vendors that are currently on the FMCSA ELD list that probably shouldn’t be.” She reported being asked to work with a 3,000-truck car- rier that was concerned “some- thing wasn’t quite right” with the ELDs it had installed. “It was apparent at the end of the first day that this device should never have been self-certified,” Sandberg said. “It wasn’t even minimally compliant with the automatic on-board recording device regulation that’s been in effect for 20 years.” It should not be surpris- ing that the self-certification process has allowed some noncompliant devices in the marketplace when even the agency that is supposed to manage the device standards cannot tell you what it is going to require when it gets around to writing the standards. Drivers and companies are being asked to play blind man’s bluff in more ways than the choosing and buying of the ELDs. They cannot be sure about the fairness or even the predictability of the enforcement of the regulations. Speaking of fairness, you might want to wade through the regulations. They are free on the internet for any- one to read, and they are about as clear as mud. ELDs will not reduce paper work. The devices are so unreliable that FMCSA has kept the re- quirement to carry the paper logs for use in the event of ELD failure, as well as eight supporting documents, even after December 18, 2017, date for the new regulations. Make no mistake! The ELD technology does nothing to advance highway safety; rather it is a stealth “revenue enhancement” for the state and federal governments. This ploy will increase revenue for state governments through fines and costs on the trucking industry, which will pass the costs to the unsuspecting consumer or go broke. The cost of shipping by truck overall is expected to increase in 2018 as capacity further tightens. “The combination of multiple hurricanes, strengthening spot market conditions, and the final push towards ELD implementation means trucking is ready to shift into a higher gear,” ex- plained Jonathan Starks, COO. “…Spot rates were up double-digits versus last year before the hurricanes hit and have surged further since then.” When you add in the productivity reduc- tions as ELDs are fully implemented, shipping costs are going to increase. The only question is by how much? In addition to an adverse impact on racing teams and truck drivers by the premature im- position of the ELD mandate before the devices are really ready for use in law enforcement, the economic impact is likely to be severe on certain communities and areas. I worry about what it may do to race attendance and participation. The requirement of the ELD in areas of spotty or complete lack of cell tower service will make shipping services for rural and remote communities more expensive and difficult to obtain. Draw a circle of 150 miles around major shipping centers. Those communities outside the 150 miles are where the ELDs mandate will most likely harm the economy. Within the cir- cle of 150 miles of the truck home port, if the driver does not leave the area more than eight days a month, the ELD will not be required and paper logs remain legal. That does not mean shipping costs will not increase, but the increase is likely to be less onerous. Last but not least, the ELD threatens the economy of the entire country by placing an un- due burden of increased shipping costs without improvement in services. It is an invisible “you do not see it coming” equivalent of a sales tax increase of seven percent. The stealth attack on consumers’ wallets is underway – the consumers will never know what happened. Estimates vary, but a conservative estimate is that ELDs will increase the cost of shipping products by seven percent, which then will cause an increase in sales price of the products. Sales prices determine the amount of sales tax and the states (except for Montana) will collect more taxes. The consumer will pay more for products and more for taxes and never know what happened! Drag racing teams are not exempt. They do not have any waivers from the increased costs of products and transportation hassles of ELDs to and from the race tracks. Call the White House and send tweet storms to President Trump to #delayELD. DI DI DI DI DI DI DI 40 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com DI DI DI Issue 125 OP-ED: FORREST LUCAS