EORB Concerns fromthe FedEx forum
- Thread starter greg334
- Start date
pelicn
Veteran Expediter
I understand that this is a "FedEx" issue, but many questions are being raised that are EOBR issues not specific to FedEx.
The use of a vehicle while off duty...yes, it's allowed under the HOS. If the EOBR detects the wheels turning, then the truck is moving, it doesn't know whether or not the driver is under a load or going to Walmart.
I know how Panther accounts for it, how does other companies including FedEx?
The use of a vehicle while off duty...yes, it's allowed under the HOS. If the EOBR detects the wheels turning, then the truck is moving, it doesn't know whether or not the driver is under a load or going to Walmart.
I know how Panther accounts for it, how does other companies including FedEx?
The old QC's would provide this info to the Feds as well....
You should scratch that one off your list of concerns....
Nancy, you really should be more like a duck and just let the water run off....it is far from a perfect world...especially in here..*LOL*
I'll ask the same question here that I asked in the FedEx forum, asking it about Panther's 30 minutes instead of FedEx's 7/10 of a mile.
I see no benefit whatsoever to the company in saddling its drivers with mobility disincentives that have no safety impact, undermine driver freedom and satisfaction on the road, and reduce the legally-available hours drivers would otherwise have to respond to load offers and haul freight.
There may be good reasons for the 30 minute rule the company is imposing and I am open to hearing them. Can someone explain exactly how and why 30 minutes became the magic number and how it benefits the company, the drivers and the customers they together serve?
EOBRs are sophisticated devices that can be programed to do anything the company wants them to do. Why was 30 minutes programmed in when the personal conveyance logging rules are so different?
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For reference, the FMCSA personal conveyance interpretation is provided below (thank you, McBride for pointing it out). Source
Question 26: If a driver is permitted to use a CMV for personal reasons, how must the driving time be recorded?
Guidance: When a driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work, time spent traveling from a driver’s home to his/her terminal (normal work reporting location), or from a driver’s terminal to his/her home, may be considered off-duty time. Similarly, time spent traveling short distances from a driver’s en route lodgings (such as en route terminals or motels) to restaurants in the vicinity of such lodgings may be considered off-duty time. The type of conveyance used from the terminal to the driver’s home, from the driver’s home to the terminal, or to restaurants in the vicinity of en route lodgings would not alter the situation unless the vehicle is laden. A driver may not operate a laden CMV as a personal conveyance. The driver who uses a motor carrier’s CMV for transportation home, and is subsequently called by the employing carrier and is then dispatched from home, would be on-duty from the time the driver leaves home.
A driver placed out of service for exceeding the requirements of the hours of service regulations may not drive a CMV to any location to obtain rest.
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greg334
Veteran Expediter
Sorry Mcbride, I didn't mean to offend you.
But with all the cheerleaders and phantom driver's council members on this forum, the mis-information and arrogance by some (not you) seems to be floating around creating a bit of an issue for many who are confused.
To address two of your concerns, here is my take.
The system can not really damage your ECM, the stories I have heard and the repairs I have seen that were supposely caused by EOBRs had other issues involved, from high voltage jumping of the truck to bad wiring harnesses. With many of the muiltiplexed trucks on the road, anything can happen, even when the dealer hooks up their interface to check the system.
The system in the truck uses what is called a Controller Area Network physical system with a communications protocol called SAE J1939. It is a robust system designed for very harsh enviorments. The interface is a common one, many use a chip from Microchip - MCP2551, while others use descrete electronics to interface to the CAN bus.
The other issue that you have seems to be more of an issue with FedEx policies which should have been addressed by the company before the date was set. As a contractor, the person I would ask Virginia for written policies and where is your training (read the regs). I would ask her for the written corporate policy and have her explain it, and would not accept a CC's or what ever's word on it - it is written somewhere but if it isn't, it should be. If you think she is too busy, well that's her job, to keep the company going.
I was concern with privacy until one day I was told by another contractor what I was hauling and how much I was making - I gave up trying to figure out the company. FedEx CC ignored my questions to know why any contractor got that info but I came to the conclusion that if any stranger with internet access can track me with a BOL number, than the entire system is really flawed. I did get an answer from Memphis, kind of interesting but not for public consumption.
The other thing is calibration, I have the testing requirements here in printed form for EOBRs and I don't see a word about calibration. The QC system is not made for rocket scientist to install them but idiot field techs which means they have to keep them simple. The QC setup manual I had didn't mention calibration unless you talk about time, but then again there is a configuration which is also not mentioned in the testing requirements. I would think the FMCSA would not decide who would do what for any reason - they don't certify techs.
But with all the cheerleaders and phantom driver's council members on this forum, the mis-information and arrogance by some (not you) seems to be floating around creating a bit of an issue for many who are confused.
To address two of your concerns, here is my take.
The system can not really damage your ECM, the stories I have heard and the repairs I have seen that were supposely caused by EOBRs had other issues involved, from high voltage jumping of the truck to bad wiring harnesses. With many of the muiltiplexed trucks on the road, anything can happen, even when the dealer hooks up their interface to check the system.
The system in the truck uses what is called a Controller Area Network physical system with a communications protocol called SAE J1939. It is a robust system designed for very harsh enviorments. The interface is a common one, many use a chip from Microchip - MCP2551, while others use descrete electronics to interface to the CAN bus.
The other issue that you have seems to be more of an issue with FedEx policies which should have been addressed by the company before the date was set. As a contractor, the person I would ask Virginia for written policies and where is your training (read the regs). I would ask her for the written corporate policy and have her explain it, and would not accept a CC's or what ever's word on it - it is written somewhere but if it isn't, it should be. If you think she is too busy, well that's her job, to keep the company going.
I was concern with privacy until one day I was told by another contractor what I was hauling and how much I was making - I gave up trying to figure out the company. FedEx CC ignored my questions to know why any contractor got that info but I came to the conclusion that if any stranger with internet access can track me with a BOL number, than the entire system is really flawed. I did get an answer from Memphis, kind of interesting but not for public consumption.
The other thing is calibration, I have the testing requirements here in printed form for EOBRs and I don't see a word about calibration. The QC system is not made for rocket scientist to install them but idiot field techs which means they have to keep them simple. The QC setup manual I had didn't mention calibration unless you talk about time, but then again there is a configuration which is also not mentioned in the testing requirements. I would think the FMCSA would not decide who would do what for any reason - they don't certify techs.
Why do you accept the EOBR units on your trucks....I can see it being forced on company drivers, but you are owner/operators.
You should have been given the option to chose which system...HOS, the ultimate responsibility comes down to each driver...Why do these companies feel the need to massage you along?
It is pretty simple..if a driver offends one too many times and effects the companies operating abilities, then terminate that specific problem.
You should have been given the option to chose which system...HOS, the ultimate responsibility comes down to each driver...Why do these companies feel the need to massage you along?
It is pretty simple..if a driver offends one too many times and effects the companies operating abilities, then terminate that specific problem.
pelicn
Veteran Expediter
Phil, I don't know where the 30 minute time limit came from. I do know that it came about after many complaints of not being able to drive to Walmart etc. when you weren't on a load.
I can only assume, and you know how dangerous that can be, that they figured that 30 minutes of drive time reasonable. We've never had a problem with that time limit in getting to where we needed to go.
Now I ask again, how could a computer be programmed to "know" whether those wheels were running with or without a load?
How considerate of the company to ALLOW one 30 minutes of your own personal time....did ya all thank them?
49 CFR 376.12(c)(1) requires a motor carrier using leased equipment to assume "exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment" for the duration of the lease. Owner- operator vehicles leased to such carrier would be required to have EOBRs installed even if the owner-operator holds separate operating authority.
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Rhodes101
Not a Member
It looks like all the solo straights will be running for ind. carriers, at least until they conform. Since it is very tough to serve 2 households from 1 truck, it appears this industry will become nothing but husband and wife teams.
I understand that part....WHO made the decision to go with EOBR and WHY...
WHY did O/O's agree to this so easily?
If I remember right, the 30 minute conveyance and .7 movement amount was from the original prototype program that Werner Enterprises had. I am guessing (no facts) that these were numbers provided by the FMCA.
If a team, realistically you could use an hour figuring 30 minutes per driver. The truck can't have frieight on it in order to use it.
Only the .7 deal can be used. If you go and do the tourist, shopping or whatever else, the clock starts for at least one.
As to know where you are at, they have that capability anyways if you have a QC.
If a team, realistically you could use an hour figuring 30 minutes per driver. The truck can't have frieight on it in order to use it.
Only the .7 deal can be used. If you go and do the tourist, shopping or whatever else, the clock starts for at least one.
As to know where you are at, they have that capability anyways if you have a QC.
if they do above in bold then they can repair the truck as well....oh wait....I'd tell the Feds and P2 to go for a flying crap...
I don't know who agreed to having EOBR's. I imagine, that they tossed it to the phantom Driver Council, which, for all intensive purposes, is not a true council but merely a group of FedEx hand-picked un-named persons that attend unpublished council meetings at which no minutes are taken....and no input from "others" is welcome.
I have heard...some of these council members have been using EOBR's in their trucks for months. Perhaps, these people are the people that agreed to having them installed....thereby making it the law of the land.
I don't know when the whole thing occured as we have not been home since December to read any mail from FedEx. I also was informed today by a friend that as a TVAL unit we are going to have to lease another piece of equipment too for like $70.00 a month. I am just trying to find out about that now....
I wonder if our politicians and carriers have stock in rental car companies?
The infamous.."it is the cost of doing business" excuse.
To wit I reply.."And why is it I am paying for your costs to do your business?" I thought we were a partnership?
They name what THEY want and YOU pay for it...
Huh? Joe?
Need to go re-supply during a 34 hour reset? More than a few feet from your TS or motel? Rent a car. Driving a car does not count as driving. Need to get to a doctor more than 7 tenths or 30 minutes out? To bad. Want to drive to a stream to fish? Rent a car or sit in the sleeper and forget it. Just more control over our lives. It is obvious that we, as drivers, are just too stupid to know right from wrong. How dare a normal person do normal everyday things without the government and carriers sticking their noses where they don't belong.
I love not being trusted by the government and carriers. Innocence before guilt? Not any longer.
I love not being trusted by the government and carriers. Innocence before guilt? Not any longer.
What ever happened to the warm and fuzzies? The consultations, the flow if input from both sides...seems to be awfully one sided....
I don't have a dog in this particular fight...But in general the larger carriers, even mine, seems to be getting a little bossy.
I don't have a dog in this particular fight...But in general the larger carriers, even mine, seems to be getting a little bossy.