A Canadian regulation mandating the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) can’t come “soon enough,” according to prominent trucking representatives.
Truck News reported on a webinar hosted by Omnitracs where One For Freight CEO David Carruth said he would like to see Canada move more quickly to pass similar regulation as the U.S., which is implementing a ELD mandate this December.
“All of the data is there for us to make the right decision,” he said. “All the case studies have been done…My question is, why would we not want to do this and do this sooner rather than later?”
The proposed Canadian rule is expected to be published in Canada Gazette 1 in the coming weeks. After a comment review period, a final rule could be published in Canada Gazette 2, sometime in mid-2018, with hard enforcement unlikely to begin before late 2019.
But Stephen Laskowski, president of the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA), said the industry should welcome the mandate.
“The ELD regulation is bringing to head the inefficiencies in the supply chain, especially those the drivers bear the brunt of,” he said. “Inefficiencies at loading docks, inefficient loading times themselves.”
Carruth said his company has seen many benefits since adopting electronic logs. They’ve given him hard data he can use to raise shipper awareness about inefficiencies, One For Freight’s CVOR violation rate has been cut in half, and drivers are now more productive.
Mike Ham, vice-president and general manager of Omnitracs Canada, said customers who switch to e-logs typically free up two to 2.5 hours of drive time per week for drivers, which was previously spent filling paper logs.
“There’s an additional, maybe 100 miles a week a driver may get,” he said, adding time-consuming internal logbook audits are also automated.
Laskowski said an ELD mandate will be “the great cleansing of our industry,” and will force carriers to compete based on sound business practices and innovation rather than ignoring hours-of-service rules.
“The ELD mandate will bring a lot of great things for drivers,” Laskowski added. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the carriers who do it the right way to thrive, and for those who have not been doing it (right), to change or to exit the industry.”
Read the full Truck News article here.