Appeal refused, semis go to e-logs

Justices deny bid by drivers’ group

Marking the final legal step in nearly two decades of debate in the trucking industry, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case challenging the constitutionality of the Department of Transportation's electronic logging device mandate.

RELATED ARTICLE

http://www.arkansas…">Trump travel ban loses again in court

The electronic logging devices replace paper logbooks used to keep track of a driver's hours of service and were included in the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2012. The devices automatically record these hours and ensure a driver is complying with regulations.

In the final rule published in December 2015, the government said the device "improves commercial motor vehicle safety and reduces the overall paperwork burden for both motor carriers and drivers." The compliance deadline is Dec. 18.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the mandate in December 2016, which the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association contested on the grounds of truckers' Fourth Amendment rights. The association argued the regulation does not adequately protect drivers from harassment by supervisors.

Norita Taylor, a spokesman for the association, said they are "extremely disappointed" by the decision. "We will continue to pursue the issue on the congressional side, as there are still many questions about the technical specifications and enforcement aspects of the mandate," she said.

"Until the government is able to answer many fundamental and basic questions about the mandate, they should at least delay its implementation." The questions, she said, involve cybersecurity vulnerabilities, the ability of law enforcement to access information, connectivity in remote areas and device certification.

The Arkansas Trucking Association has supported electronic logging devices since 1999.

"The industry has invested substantial time and resources preparing for this rule to go into effect, and we continue to believe it's in the best interest of safety," Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said.

Newton said studies indicate that about two-thirds of commercial carriers already use or are testing the devices.

"In order to create a safe environment, people have to comply," said Jeff Holt, executive vice president at Stallion Transportation Group. The Beebe company opted to install the devices several years ago.

"When you get [the devices] across the board, not only does it put everybody on the same level from a compliance standpoint; it's just the right thing to do," he said.

Taylor called the mandate "the equivalent of warrantless surveillance" and an "intrusion on the rights of hardworking Americans."

"The mandate will not improve safety," she said. "It will, however, be another costly regulatory burden heaped upon an already overregulated industry."

Howard Frost has been driving for nearly 40 years and now works for Zero Mountain Logistics in Fort Smith. "Some people see them as an unnecessary evil, but I see them as a blessing," he said of the devices.

"For years dispatchers would run trucks and run people to death, have them back up their log books and tear pages out. With the e-logs they can't do that anymore. Drivers can't get bullied."

He said for drivers resistant to the idea, it's a "money issue. The drivers upset with e-logs are owner-operators because they're trying to make truck payments, and if they don't understand e-logs, [the devices] can hurt them."

When he first switched nine years ago he said, "I fought them. I said, 'Guys, that's going to cripple me.'"

After two weeks of learning how they work, he said, "If I don't have e-logs now, it just drives me up a wall. There's just so much time I save and so much protection for me."

"Are they a headache? Sometimes," he said. "But the one thing they are absolutely doing is protecting the driver."

Holt of Stallion Transportation admitted there was a learning curve after installation. Besides the added upfront cost, it took time for drivers and dispatchers to adjust to trip planning with the device.

Ultimately though, he said, "It benefits the industry. Who wants a nonompliant driver or fleet on the road?"

"I can understand the scary part of it," said Frost. "But they'll either go out of business, or they will adapt to the business models in front of them. The hardest thing for people to do is change."

Business on 06/13/2017

Upcoming Events