East Lansing, MI – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s mandate on the use of electronic logging devices to record hours of service for commercial vehicle drivers “did not immediately achieve its goal of reducing accidents” and may be linked to increases in dangerous driving behavior and collisions, suggest the results of a recent study.

The mandate took effect in December 2017. On April 1, 2018, inspectors were authorized to begin decommissioning VMC drivers for operating without ELDs, which are used instead of manual paper logs to track HOS .

Researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Arkansas analyzed data from approximately 4 million roadside inspections and all federally recordable crashes between January 1, 2017 and September 1, 2018. While the mandate resulted in a significant improvement in driver compliance with HOS reports, particularly among smaller fleets, the results show that the number of incidents increased after the mandate took effect.

For independent owner-operators, incidents jumped 11.6%, while fleets employing between two and 20 trucks saw a 9% increase. The researchers also report an increase in violations for dangerous driver behaviors – including speeding, frequent lane changes, following too closely and hard braking – in conjunction with the warrant.

“These results call into question whether increased electronic monitoring has improved safety in this industry,” the researchers write.

After releasing the final rule in December 2015, the FMCSA estimated that the mandate would help prevent 1,844 crashes, 562 injuries and 26 deaths each year.

“Drivers reacted in ways that the FMCSA did not fully anticipate, and these behaviors need to be considered as the FMCSA reviews its hours of service policies,” said Andrew Balthrop, co-author of the study and research associate at UA, in a press. Release.

“Amazingly, the number of accidents for the most affected carriers – the operators for whom the federal mandate was intended – has not decreased. In fact, following the implementation of the mandate, accidents among small carriers and independent owner-operators increased, compared to large asset-based carriers.

ELDs record – at frequent intervals – vehicle information such as date, time, location, engine hours and miles, as well as driver, vehicle and carrier identification information road.

Proponents of the mandate argue that relying on ELDs rather than paper logs to track HOS improves safety and efficiency. Opponents say the rule violates drivers’ Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure and lacks concrete evidence that it increases safety.

VMC drivers must carry four items as part of the mandate:

• A user manual that describes how to use the ELD
• A sheet listing step-by-step instructions on producing and transferring HOS records to an authorized security officer
• A sheet that outlines ELD malfunction reporting requirements and protocol for keeping records during such incidents
• At least eight days of blank grids to record service status reports

The study was published in the March issue of Operations management journal.