Use of electronic truck-logs urged

[brutus]

Use of electronic truck-logs urged
Arizona Daily Star - Sep 10, 2007
All of which has critics of trucking regulatory policies arguing that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should scrap the paper logbooks in which truckers record their hours of work and rest.

[brtecson]

I've used electronic logs at my last job and i'll take that over paper logs anyday

[Dirtball]

And just who is gonna foot the bill for this change ? I can see the need but is it gonna be cost effective to the driver or company and are we as drivers gonna have to give something up in order to comply ? I personally have never used or seen one. How are they used ? Is it a drivers personal thing they carry with them and plug into each truck or is it a computer thing that is in each truck and you type in a code ?

OR

Is this just another money making gimic someone figured up in order to get some money from drivers again ? ( Remember the CDL and background check)? If drivers have to buy something like a laptop device then they should be able to write it off at tax time.

[mustache]

The one i heard about is truck mounted doesn't cost the driver anything, except the time driving that he used to show in the BUNK. TL drivers won't like em but ltl won't matter 400 / 600 mi. per drive time, bring em on! Mustache Retired Roadway

[medic92]

I used electronic logs for a while and they were convenient but made it harder to keep from running out of hours. I really prefer paper logs.

[brtecson]

Originally Posted by Dirtball

And just who is gonna foot the bill for this change ? I can see the need but is it gonna be cost effective to the driver or company and are we as drivers gonna have to give something up in order to comply ? I personally have never used or seen one. How are they used ? Is it a drivers personal thing they carry with them and plug into each truck or is it a computer thing that is in each truck and you type in a code ?

OR

Is this just another money making gimic someone figured up in order to get some money from drivers again ? ( Remember the CDL and background check)? If drivers have to buy something like a laptop device then they should be able to write it off at tax time.

Most e logs are like onboard touch-screen computers on your truck and they are wired in to the engine's computer box. The ones we had came factory installed by the dealer. Most can record your hours, along with average mph, rpm, mpg, and all kinds of other stuff.

The negatives, as the other guys said, you cant really fudge it without it being noticable. and it can record your speed and driving habits which cant be a good thing..