Roadside inspection standards updated

GREENBELT, Md. – The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has updated a series of roadside inspection standards, including rules for those using electronic logging devices (ELDs), and the procedures for inspecting motor coach monocoque frames and suspensions. The changes were approved […]

Don’t Waste Time: Let’s learn the lessons of a different ELD mandate

At first glance, the Canadian Trucking Alliance seems to be getting ahead of itself in the call for a “graduated education” period before electronic logging devices (ELDs) are mandated. The federal government has yet to finalize such rules, or even decide if it will embrace an accelerated December 2019 deadline the alliance is championing. Other than Ontario, most provinces have been silent on the idea, too.

PeopleNet ready for expedited ELD mandate: Wright

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The president of PeopleNet Canada says his company is ready for a Canadian mandate of electronic logging devices (ELDs), even if a rollout is expedited.

Don’t discount AOBRDs yet says speaker

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Mandatory electronic logging devices (ELD) are on the horizon for Canadian drivers, but Rihard Suler thinks fleets should consider holding off on upgrading to their systems for as long as they can.

Everything is negotiable in ELD era

For years, I’ve been chuckling under my breath at transportation conferences whenever I hear shippers speak about how important it is to be “good business partners” with their carriers. Experience has shown me that once they walk off the stage, their actions tell another story. The “win-win” rhetoric gives way to “we win, you lose” when it comes time to work on a contract. That’s starting to change.

New CTA chairman looks to raise regional voices

TORONTO, Ont. — This isn’t the first time Scott Smith has occupied a seat at the head of a boardroom table. The president and chief executive officer of Ontario-based JD Smith led the Ontario Trucking Association from 2004-06. Now, just a little over a decade later, he has been handed the gavel for the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA).

As familiar as the role might appear, this is a time of significant change among some of Canada’s largest trucking associations. Stephen Laskowski is entering his first full year as chief executive officer of the Canadian Trucking Alliance itself. Recent months have seen changes to senior staff at the British Columbia Trucking Association and Alberta Motor Transport Association, too.

Geotab, Garmin bundle ELD and more

Geotab and Garmin have joined together to offer the Geotab Garmin ELD Bundle to track, manage, and share Records of Duty Status. Building on Geotab’s Cloud ELD offering, the bundle includes a Garmin Fleet 790 Android tablet with wi-fi, an […]

ELDs a hot topic at Mid-America

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mandated electronic logging devices were a hot topic on the floor of the Mid-America Trucking Show this year. Equipment editor Jim Park offers a wrap-up of Friday’s show offerings, ranging from ELDs to new discounts offered through […]

Time Trials: ELDs and our experience so far

TORONTO, Ont. — Three months in, the worst of the American ELD rollout is probably behind us. Some fleets have discovered that the devices they bought at the very last minute didn’t work as advertised. Inspectors were flummoxed by some devices …

Border can represent a technical divide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Marc Greco, manager of corporate solutions with Challenger Motor Freight, was direct when he summed up a comparison of Canadian and U.S. trucking operations. “We do things slightly differently,” he told a crowd at Omnitracs’ Outlook user conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Electronic inspection trial expected this year

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Electronic roadside inspections are moving closer to reality thanks to mandated electronic logging devices (ELDs) and inspection requirements defined by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).

Cyberattacks are a real threat to trucking: panel

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It can begin with someone surfing porn on a fleet tablet, clicking on the link in an email from someone who appears to be a trusted customer, or even using a poorly designed ELD. But no matter how a breach in fleet systems is created, the cybersecurity threats in trucking are all too real.

Welcome to the land of ELD confusion

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The early days of enforcing a U.S. mandate for electronic logging devices (ELDs) have been marred by confusion over the workings of individual devices and more.

Kerri Wirachowsky, director of the roadside inspection program for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), refers to the example of one fleet that had installed Automatic On Board Recording Devices (AOBRDs) last February.

Wirachowsky
At first glance that device should be accepted, because it was installed before the mandate took hold on Dec. 18, and would be legal until Dec. 16, 2019. The problem is that the user hadn’t been able to reach the supplier to upload the related hours of service functions, she said during the Omnitracs Outlook user conference. That meant a ticket, and more frantic calls to the supplier.

Trucking faces greatest change since deregulation: Greer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ray Greer, the chief executive officer of Omnitracs, believes the trucking industry is undergoing its greatest period of change since deregulation.

Hourly Pay’s the Way: If there’s a good side to ELDs, it’s that driver pay systems will change

There are two things converging in this sometimes tumultuous industry of ours: an apparent capacity crunch in many sectors and the difficult onset of electronic logging devices, which is only making the former worse. And will continue to do so, […]