The most obvious benefit of ELD devices is compliance with the FMCSA’s ELD mandate, but these telematic solutions do much more. Fleet managers use them to leverage data to improve security and loss prevention, reduce fuel consumption, and coach drivers on safer driving practices.
Read on to learn how ELDs generate more actionable data than ever before.
Increased Safety
One of the biggest benefits of ELD devices is that they help improve driver safety. By preventing drivers from breaking trucking regulations and providing accurate HOS counting, they enable drivers to get the rest they need, leading to improved road safety.
Furthermore, some of the best ELD systems include features such as a gyroscope and accelerometer that can identify harsh events like speeding, hard braking, and cornering, helping fleet managers to coach drivers on safe driving and reduce risk. When paired with footage from connected dash cams, historical location data from an ELD also helps minimize liability by exonerating drivers from false allegations of damage.
Additionally, since ELDs plug into a vehicle’s OBD port, they can pull engine diagnostics and provide valuable telematics data on mileage, speed, real-time location, and driving time. This data can be used to make proactive maintenance decisions and streamline operations.
Improved Efficiency
An ELD device automatically tracks drivers’ service hours, eliminating errors and time-consuming paperwork. They also ensure drivers don’t exceed their HOS limits, reducing driving violations and the risk of accidents that lead to higher insurance premiums.
Additionally, some ELDs provide alerts on harsh driving behavior like speeding and hard braking. This improves driver safety and can help fleets save on maintenance costs.
Choose an ELD solution that offers a simple installation process for your drivers so they can easily adopt it. Additionally, provide comprehensive training sessions to educate drivers and address misconceptions about the new technology. This will help them understand how the ELDs can improve their efficiency and productivity while ensuring compliance with regulations.
Increased Revenue
ELDs automate HOS compliance, allowing fleet managers time to focus on other tasks. But their benefits go beyond that. With telematics data, they can also help truckers optimize routes, bypass weigh stations, and speed up or even skip roadside inspections completely.
They can also enable drivers to take on more loads with a digital load-matching platform that connects them with available freight that fits their remaining HOS limit. This increases driver income and profit, boosting trucking’s bottom line.
In addition, ELDs like Samsara provide live-to-the-second GPS tracking that lets you prevent theft, dispatch trucks without calling them, and give customers accurate, reliable ETAs. This reduces costs and improves efficiency. It can even cut down on wasted fuel. A full-featured ELD system will save your company money over the long term.
Increased Security
ELDs can gather and store a wealth of telematics data, including engine diagnostics, real-time location, speed, and driving time. This information can increase fleet efficiency and profitability through improved route planning, fuel savings by monitoring idling, digital maintenance scheduling, and more.
In addition to helping drivers avoid violations, ELDs can improve CSA scores by eliminating the need to record manually and total HOS. They also eliminate the risk of costly federal audits by providing reliable data to support driver logs during a roadside inspection.
In a report to Congress, FMCSA noted that HOS-related violations have decreased significantly since the implementation of ELDs. It also indicated that its ELD submission web service meets government data security and privacy standards. This could provide a foundation for further improvements to technical specifications for ELD devices.
Reduced Costs
While ELD devices are an investment, they can be a big money saver for delivery companies. They reduce liability, increase safety, cut fuel costs, and may help with better insurance rates, which can significantly impact profit margins.
ELDs automate HOS, ensuring compliance with regulations and reducing fleet managers’ time managing driver logs. This can save them up to 10 hours weekly and significantly reduce administrative expenses.
To maximize cost savings, motor carriers should look for an affordable ELD device backed by reliable customer support and transparent pricing. Also, consider that mobile networks are sunsetting 3G technology. Choosing an ELD that uses 4G or newer technologies will prevent drivers from losing valuable data when the old network is phased out in 2022.
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