EROAD, a global technology provider of fleet management, electronic tax reporting and ELD compliance solutions for the transportation industry, recently provided “valuable and relevant data” to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is seeking public comment regarding changes to Hours-of-Service regulations under consideration.
“We receive ongoing feedback about HOS rules and their impacts on the road and on the bottom line from our customers,” said Norm Ellis, president of EROAD North America. “HOS flexibility is important, and EROAD is in an excellent position to combine what we see in our data along with fleet operators’ experiences to help FMCSA make the best decisions on improving HOS.”
In August 2018, FMCSA announced it was seeking public input regarding four provisions of the industry’s Hours-of-Service regulations that are currently under review by the agency. To provide relevant input to the FMCSA and represent the viewpoints of its customer base, EROAD took the following steps:
- Performed analyses on millions of anonymized, aggregated data points from trips taken by US-based vehicles and drivers from Jan. 1 to July 31, examining ELD data for patterns of FMCSA violations in relation to type, frequency per driver and time in violation.
- Based on questions provided by the FMCSA for public comment on HOS flexibility, surveyed EROAD customers and other fleet operators to seek context regarding the HOS provisions under review.
- Hosted an open roundtable webinar in which data from the statistical analysis and survey were discussed and additional commentary was captured.
- Encouraged carriers to submit comments directly to FMCSA through the webpage provided.
EROAD ELD data analytics found:
- 30-minute rest break is the most common violation, followed by 14-hour duty limit, 11-hour driving limit and on-duty limit
- The proportion of violations by type has remained fairly consistent since the mandate was introduced
- Average time spent in violation is reducing over time
- The number of violations per driver is increasing for 11-hour driving limit and 14-hour duty limit violations
“We appreciate suppliers like EROAD that get involved with our industry by providing actionable information for the FMCSA,” said Dave Heller, vice president of government affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association.
“Going beyond offering a solution to provide data and expertise is what makes having highly engaged industry suppliers so valuable.”
The full report submitted to the FMCSA can be found at go.eroad.com/hos_research.