ELDs have not reduced accidents as expected, and their effectiveness in improving road safety remains contested within the trucking industry.
Since the implementation of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) in Canada, Transport Canada and other authorities claim that these tools have helped improve safety in the trucking industry. By automatically and accurately recording work hours, ELDs are designed to limit excessive fatigue, which is often linked to accidents caused by prolonged driving periods. The main objective is to ensure that drivers comply with legal driving and rest schedules to prevent incidents related to exhaustion.
Electronic monitoring makes it much harder to falsify logs, a common practice with paper records. Before the introduction of ELDs, it was easy to manipulate daily logs, discard them, or switch logbooks, allowing drivers to exceed authorized hours of service, which increased the risk of accidents. The implementation of ELDs has thus brought greater transparency and more accurate tracking of driving hours.
Challenges Persist in Trucking
However, not everyone in the industry shares this optimism. Some argue that ELDs have not significantly reduced the number of truck-related accidents. Studies even show a slight increase in fatal accidents involving heavy trucks, raising doubts about the actual effectiveness of these devices in improving safety.
Moreover, ELDs enforce rigid schedules, which do not always account for unforeseen circumstances, such as the availability of rest areas. Some drivers, in an effort not to lose valuable hours, choose to continue driving despite being fatigued, thereby increasing the risk of accidents. Instead of stopping to rest, they prefer to maximize their driving time to avoid delays and impacts on their professional and personal lives.
“About 80% of the problems we have with ELDs stem from drivers who wanted to do more and changed their hours,” explained Andre Tardif, President of TEC Transport Expert-Conseil, on Truck Stop Quebec radio. “Companies call us frequently, saying they don’t want to fire the driver, but they want to know how to handle the situation. Many drivers go ‘off-duty’ at the customer site, claiming they are not working. But the law on driving and working hours is clear: if you are available for your employer and assigned tasks, then you are on duty.”
Additionally, some truckers have found ways to bypass these devices by using fake accounts to extend their driving hours. There are even reports of carriers altering ELD data to add driving hours for their drivers, allowing them to work longer. While illegal, this shows that technology alone is not enough to ensure safety if not accompanied by strict enforcement of regulations.
“For companies that were already compliant under paper logs, the ELD provided additional tools to ensure compliance, as they now have real-time information. But those who were gaming the system before continue to circumvent it because companies are given access to ‘correct’ the hours, which leaves the door open for falsification, and we witness this daily,” explains Jean-Claude Daignault, President of the Fraternity of the Road Transportation Officers of Quebec.
Another issue arises from the fact that local companies operating within a radius of less than 160 km are exempt from using ELDs, which opens the door to potential abuse. For example, in the city snow removal sector during winter, drivers can often exceed authorized hours of service without being monitored by an electronic device, increasing the risks related to fatigue.
Many voices in the trucking industry continue to doubt that ELDs are the silver bullet for all safety problems. To truly improve safety, it is essential to combine ELDs with other measures, such as ongoing driver training, increasing parking availability for heavy trucks, and more flexible working conditions. These solutions would reduce pressure on drivers and better enforce mandatory rest periods, thus reducing the risks related to fatigue and exceeding hours of service.
Fatigue remains a major cause of accidents among truckers, according to the Canadian Safety Council, exacerbated by long driving hours despite strict regulations.
