Top Reasons to Use ELDs, Even When Exempt
If you go through the FMCSA’s ELD mandate you will learn that a few categories of vehicles & drivers are exempt from this rule. For example, pre-2000 vehicles don’t need to have ELDs, towaway drivers and drivers who do not have to maintain RODS are also exempt.
Many fleets have decided to use the electronic logging device even when they know they are exempt. Let’s discover why.
Efficient HOS compliance: Hours of Service compliance has always been a bigger concern for most fleets. ELDs make HOS compliance a breeze. As per the statistical analysis conducted by FMCSA, HOS violations can be reduced by as much as 50%. Furthermore, it drops down the overall crash rate by 10%.
Drivers’ efficiency and productivity also increase if they use automated logs as they don’t need to do the tedious paperwork. Electronic logs automatically calculate the number of hours and miles driven. And drivers even get real-time HOS violation alerts from ELDs, eliminating the possibility of noncompliance.
Huge economic benefits: Initially, setting up an ELD solution may seem like a pain for the wallet. But soon you will discover that they have many economic benefits that outweigh the initial cost. Based on a presumptive analysis, a truck that consumes $70,000 of fuel per year spent approximately $5,600 on idling time.
Such bad driving behaviors can be easily identified with the help of an ELD. The number of penalties and fines is also minimized due to fewer HOS violations.
Better management of the fleet: As a fleet manager, you will be in a better position to manage your fleet than ever before—thanks to the electronic logging device.
Better fleet management comes in following ways:
- Better route planning leads to a reduction of fuel cost and time efficiency.
- Less paperwork means fewer instances of human error.
- Workload distribution becomes easier and better.
- Real-time GPS tracking information is available.
- Analysis of drivers’ performance becomes effortless along with the tracking of violations and DVIRs.With so many significant benefits of using ELDs, fleet managers are very much eager to implement in their vehicles. If you are looking for an affordable, easy-to-use ELD solution, request a demo and our product specialists will be in touch.
