Mailbag: Most readers feel ELDs have exacerbated parking issues

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Updated May 7, 2018
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In my Channel 19 post from yesterday, in which Delaware State Police Sergeant Walter Newton noted he didn’t think much had fundamentally changed about parking since the ELD mandate went into effect other than an uptick in inside and outside awareness of long-existing problems. When I asked readers for their thoughts on any ELD effect on parking, some also challenged what might be a bit of at this point conventional wisdom the turn to ELDs has had a sizable impact on the ability to get in where you fit in.

Vern Shore, for instance, commenting on Overdrive‘s Facebook page under a share of the blog post: “When your cell phone battery dies, you quit talking. When your ELD clicks down to zero, you park. Welcome to the electronic age. Like most of life, the secret is to plan ahead.”

Most readers, however, echoed owner-op Tilden Curl’s commentary about distinct changes in the ebb and flow of parking at truck stops and rest areas creating new challenges for haulers. Take a listen:

Also in the podcast, a bit on a situation one trucker encountered out west when he neglected to switch his ELD to off-duty over an 11-hour sleeper period — and what happened when he was pulled a few days later for an inspection in Oregon. It highlights pre-mandate and later concerns so many had about FMCSA’s advice to drivers to rely on annotations to explain e-log mistakes or situations that force you into violation.

Read more about that advice via this link:

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