How to Reduce Liability with ELD Compliance

Decrease your fleet’s liability by using ELDs

The ELD device has made HOS violations easier to identify and more consequential. But there is no stopping of HOS violations and deadly accidents. The prevalence of ELD devices has changed how lawsuits against trucking companies play out when an accident takes place. Use of ELD can help companies in several ways to better prepare their drivers for the changing landscape & decrease liability at the time of the crash.

Update safety programs

The entire trucking industry knows that a large portion of HOS violations don’t cause accidents but violations are often implicated when crashes do happen. ELDs can detect violations very easily and one can get access to these data more easily during litigations. Hence, fleets should reduce the possibility of violations by providing regular training with a solid safety program which should be updated regularly as we continue to learn new implications of ELDs for safety & liability.

Maintain electronic logs

Electronically logged hours provide drivers the necessary support & motivation to manage risky situations in reducing liability and preventing lawsuits. When a lawsuit is filed against an accident the legal authority would comb through logs to detect whether there was any driver’s violation involved. Hand-written logs are prone to error, even with the most meticulous drivers. And the slightest inconsistency in the logs could support the claim that the fleet company is responsible for the crash. Electronic logs ensure accurate & easily accessible information which in turn reduces fleet’s liability.

Implement ELDs earlier

ELDs show what a truck was doing at the time of an accident and they are a critical resource in the lawsuit when a plaintiff argues that the accident took place due to a driver’s violation. The plaintiff tries to prove that the driver could have been fatigued at the time of the accident but the data logged through ELD can prove that the driver was not violating driving time regulations. Thus, ELDs place the truck at a specific time and at a specific place leaving little or nothing to predictions or bias.

Reducing fleet’s liability is one of the major benefits among many that an ELD device can bring to the trucking industry. As a fleet manager, you should consider using them now to reduce your insurance liability.

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