The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has created the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) rule to encourage safer driving practices for fleet drivers, workplaces for drivers, and roadways for everyone. The gist of the law is simple. By December 18, 2017, all drivers and carriers falling under the scope of the ELD rule will be required to either have ELDs that are registered with the FMCSA or AOBRDs (automatic on board recording devices) to serve as records of duty status (RODS).

That’s not the end of it, though as far as the ELD rule timeline goes. This is only Phase 2 of the process. The third and final phase (also known as the Full Compliance Phase) begins on December 16, 2019. On that date, all commercial motor vehicles affected by the ELD rule must be fully compliant with ELDs that are certified, registered, and comply with ELD mandate requirements. This means that even AOBRDs will be obsolete and no longer qualify for the mandate.

What does this mean for fleet operators?

Making the transition to an ELD, now, is a better solution that merely upgrading to an AOBRD that will need to be replaced within the next two years. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that there is a learning curve involved for operators and drivers when a new system is put into place. It will be far more cost effective to move on now and adopt a qualifying ELD for your fleet rather than go through two new learning curves and all the costs associated with them.

What are the benefits of adopting ELDs to fleet owners?

Aside from compliance with the law, there are many benefits to consider when it comes to adopting ELDs for your fleet. Number one, of course, is compliance with the new ELD rule. Failure to comply can prove costly for fleet owners with initial fines calculated in the neighborhood of $8,672 per “acute violation.”

The other benefits are for the roadways, your business, and the reputation of your business. It includes things like healthier drivers who aren’t suffering from burnout or sleep deprivation due to too many hours behind the wheel, absolute proof of driving hours, and defense for your business against claims of driver harassment.

ELDs will also help to reduce the amount of paperwork you must manage and file, provide better route management, aid in fuel management, reduce liabilities, and may reduce insurance premiums. In other words, the costs of compliance will be quickly regained through savings in fuel costs, administrative overhead, and insurance premiums making it a win for everyone!

Additional Reading

ELD Rule Timeline

Learn About The Electronic Logging Device Rule

About the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Rule

Common Frequently Asked Questions About the ELD Rule

Tips to Get Prepared for the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Rule

LiveViewGPS Hours of Service Application

For additional information about the LiveViewGPS Hours Of Service (HOS) application and the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Rule and Timeline, give us a call at 1-888-544-0494.

Harry has been fitted with a global positioning system (GPS) tracking device. Who is Harry? He’s a griffon vulture that scientists from both the Gibraltar Ornithological Natural History Society (GONHS) Raptor Unit and the Department of the Environment attached a tracking device to in order to obtain useful data regarding his movement during the migration this year.

The launch of the project coincides with World Environment Day with this year aiming to associate people with nature.

Scientist and researchers most observe the Griffon vultures in the springtime in Gibraltar. During the migration period, the size of the Griffon vultures and the uproar their resident Yellow-legged Gulls created were the local highlights.

Vulture track is the name of the project with the goal of gathering useful information on Africa’s migrating Griffon vultures, their foraging patterns, and their movements in their Europe breeding grounds.

Harry was the first vulture that scientists fit with a solar-powered GPS device. The scientists released him successfully from the top of the Rock and he immediately set off on his onward journey.

Scientists also fitted Harry with a unique wing-tag to help identify him in the field. Resident gulls had taken the vulture down and GONHS Raptor Unit experts cared for him.

Not only will the project gain valuable research information that’s useful in environmental education and conversation, but also can help raise awareness of how important it is to protect birds of prey, including those threatened in Europe.

The project is the latest of a few projects with the goal of connecting people with nature. These projects include live swift nest cameras and a live underwater camera that people can access in the Thinking Green.

New technologies have been developed during the past 35 years to allow for tracking and studying free-ranging animals. The advancement in technology helps to increase the opportunity to incorporate biotelemetry and tracking to study ecology and animal behavior.

Biologists are able to attach GPS tracking technology to animals to obtain accurate locations they can combine with sensor data to study animal ecology and behavior. Scientists can integrate GPS can into functional systems with power supplies, data transfer, data storage, sensor technologies, and packaging to collect activity, temperature, mortality, and proximity data from different birds and other species.

From municipal agencies to private businesses, leaf sweeping trucks help protect city streets, parking lots, roadways, and more from becoming overwhelmed by the deluge of leaves that arrive as summer gives way to autumn each year.

GPS fleet tracking can help you manage your leaf sweeping assets more efficiently reducing costs and increasing effectiveness. Below are just a few of the great ways your leaf sweeping efforts can benefit from the GPS fleet tracking technology.

Keep Sweepers Better Maintained

Maintenance is an important aspect of keeping your leaf sweeping trucks in tip-top running shape and operating at maximum capacity even longer. In addition to improving the life of the vehicles (greatly reducing replacement costs), well maintained vehicles put off fewer emissions, burn less fuel, and experience less downtime for repairs than those that are poorly or improperly maintained.

GPS fleet tools can help you plan your maintenance to optimize the effectiveness and lifespan of your equipment – making it an investment that pays for itself over time.

Conserves Fuel

One of the biggest benefits of GPS fleet tracking is that it can help you plan routes that are not only more efficient for initial fuel consumption, but also routes that reduce idling and other key contributors to fuel waste. This helps cities and businesses alike save money without sacrificing service on high traffic streets and roadways.

Eases Traffic Congestion

Another key aspect of GPS fleet tracking is that it can use data about traffic patterns during certain hours of day to plan routes in key areas during hours of the day when the least amount of traffic congestion is expected. This will help reduce unnecessary traffic delays while easing the amount of congestion on certain busy roadways while keeping the streets and gutters free of leaves and other debris.

Delivers Complete Coverage

Humans, even those with the best intentions and who pay outstanding attention to detail can make mistakes when planning leaf sweeping routes that leave some roads uncovered and may even provide double coverage on others. This leads to inefficiencies that can cause flooding or other problems when heavy rains fall, ice melts, etc. It can also increase costs by having two drivers cover the same territories. GPS fleet tracking can help you avoid these inefficiencies while ensuring that no leaves are left behind.

Whether you’re running a city government or a small private leaf sweeping fleet, you will find that GPS fleet tracking can be instrumental in improving efficiency, ensuring coverage, and reducing costs. Now is the perfect time to make this critical investment.

Interested in GPS tracking for your fleet? Give our experts a call here at LiveViewGPS to get your questions answered about this beneficial technology. 1-888-544-0494