Arkansas Trucking Association

Research shows HOS compliance increased after ELD mandate, but no change to crash rate

Researchers from the University of Arkansas and Northeastern University released the results of a study on the effects of the electronic logging device mandate and found that since the mandate went into effect, hours of service compliance has increased and so has the frequency of speeding violations. The rate of truck crashes has not seemed to be affected by the mandate.

The report supposes that the speeding increases are due to drivers making up for productivity losses caused by complying with hours of service regulations.

The report, ““Did Electronic Logging Device Mandate Reduce Accidents,” which focused on smaller carriers since many large carriers adopted on-board recording before the mandate, studied data on driver inspections and crashes between Jan. 1, 2017 and Sept. 1, 2018.

Hours of service violations fell from 6 percent to 2.9 percent for small carriers after the enforcement deadline on April 1, 2018, and violations fell from 10.7 percent to 6 percent for owner-operators. The rate for large carriers dropped from .85 percent to .75 percent.

Although violations decreased after the mandate was enforced, the data do not show a decrease in truck crashes.

“Collectively, these numbers do not point to any obvious reduction in accidents due to the ELD mandate, and in some cases suggest a possible increase in accidents for those carriers most affected by the mandate,” the report concludes.

"Context is important here," according to David O'Neal, vice president of safety programs at Arkansas Trucking Association. "We're only one year into the compliance phase. Unfortunately, there's a learning curve as all drivers are now playing by the same rules and having to manage their hours accordingly. I'm glad we have this study as a snapshot of the first full year of the mandate, and look forward to seeing the accident rate improve in line with other compliance efforts."

The speeding violation increases varied widely depending on the size of the carriers. Independent owner-operators saw a 35 percent increase in speed violations after April 1, 2018. Large carriers over 1,000 trucks saw only a 12 percent increase in unsafe driving violations. For carriers with two to six trucks, violations rose 17.5 percent; seven to 20 trucks (11 percent); and 21 to 100 trucks (14 percent).