Hours-of-service tracking devices help prevent truck crashes: study

Washington – Electronic logging devices used to track truck drivers’ compliance with federal hours-of-service regulations help prevent HOS violations and crashes, according to a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration-sponsored report issued in April.

Researchers from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute compared HOS violation rates and crash rates among 11 carriers. They found that drivers of trucks equipped with electronic logging devices were half as likely to have been found subsequently violating HOS regulations, such as working longer than the daily allowable limit or falsifying records. Trucks with the devices also had a 5 percent lower risk of being in a crash in which the driver was at fault, and had 11.7 percent fewer crashes for all crash types.

Researchers noted that although the study’s findings were statistically significant, the data used was skewed toward larger carriers and may not represent the full U.S. trucking population. FMCSA concluded in a May 12 notice of the safety benefits of mandating that all trucks have the devices.