There are various records involved in trucking. This includes the hours of service logs of truck drivers. Many impactful issues regarding such logs can arise for truck companies.
For one, such logs could sometimes end up being a major piece of evidence in personal injury cases involving truck accidents. Help with navigating evidence issues related to logs is among the help skilled attorneys can provide truck companies named as defendants in personal injury lawsuits.
Also, whether truck companies and their drivers have complied with federal rules related to hours of service logs can end up being an impactful issue in personal injury cases and other contexts.
So, what federal rules there are for hours of service logs can matter quite a bit for truck companies. Currently, a major change in such rules is scheduled to go into force before the year’s end.
The change is a new rule which will require such logs to be kept electronically through electronic logging devices. So, paper logs will no longer meet the logging requirement.
This upcoming change has drawn some debate. Supporters of the change say it could help improve log accuracy and traffic safety. Critics say it could expose truck companies to high costs and pose problems for truck drivers, such as privacy problems.
The change is currently set to go into force on Dec. 18. However, there has recently been a legislative proposal put forward to postpone the implementation of the change for two years.
One wonders what will ultimately be decided regarding when the requirement for hours of service logs to be kept electronically will go into effect. One also wonders what effects what ends up happening with this change will have on truck companies.
Source: Safety+Health, “Trucker hours of service: ELD debate continues as lawmaker proposes delay,” Aug. 10, 2017
