With a smartphone, you don’t have to wonder about anything anymore. All the answers are at your fingertips.
How tall was John Wayne? 6-foot-3. Who won the 1942 World Series? The St. Louis Cardinals.
No discussion, no arguments, no fun.
But you know what smartphones aren’t always good at? Phone calls.
Granted, your old Bell Canada Trimline won’t tell you the name of Patsy Cline’s first No. 1 hit (“Walkin’ After Midnight”—c’mon, people). But you just can’t beat a phone and dedicated landline for simplicity and reliability.
You can make the same comparison between an ELD (electronic logging device) and a full-blown fleet management system.
ELDs are intended to do one thing: track the driver’s activity so it’s easier to comply with hours-of-service rules.
A fleet management system is focused on the vehicle’s activity. For many fleets, these sophisticated tools are indispensable for running the whole business, from dispatch to compliance to maintenance to billing.
Can a fleet management system include an ELD?
Sure. Many fleet management systems now have ELD functions that meet FMCSA requirements. Since the fleet management system has hardware and software on board for monitoring the bus, it’s not a huge leap to use the same basic technology to record driving time, location and other data about the driver.
But some people just need the ELD.
What could be simpler, then, than logging hours of service on a smartphone? It makes sense because the device stays with the driver, which is what the HOS legislation is written to track.
Well, the smartphone, as amazing as it is, has some limitations as an ELD. Here are some things to consider:
- Does it meet the ELD standard? FMCSA makes it crystal clear that requirements for an ELD on a smartphone are the same as a dedicated device, including the fact that it has to sync up with the engine control module to automatically record engine power status, vehicle motion status and other data.
- What if something happens to the phone? If your ELD lives on your phone, you need to understand the consequences of moving the bus when your phone is dead because you forgot a charging cable, dropped it on the pavement or left it at home.
- As an operator, should you supply the phone? If the driver supplies his own device, and it functions as his ELD, he’s responsible for making sure that the bill is paid and the data plan can accommodate all the information the device needs to capture and communicate.
- What about IFTA and IRP? Can you take ELD data from your smartphone app and use it for IFTA and IRP? Hours of service and distance-based tax reports are very different. One focuses on the driver, the other on the bus. IFTA requires licensees to preserve all records used to create quarterly tax returns and/or annual tax returns for four years from the tax return due date or filing date, whichever is later. IRP requires fleets to preserve records for three years after the close of the registration year. If you also use GPS data for IRP licensing, you’re obligated to keep it for five and a half years. Shoot, most people don’t keep a smartphone for that long. Where is all that distance data kept? How do you get it when the IFTA auditor calls?
- Everyone has an app on their phone that they never open because it’s buggy and the developer isn’t around to support it. An ELD is too important to fall into that category. Beware of opportunists looking to cash in on desperate motorcoach operators.
If you don’t use a fleet management system, your ideal dedicated ELD solution may very well be a smartphone app. Before you ask Siri which one is best, review the ELD rule at FMCSA.dot.gov and talk to the service bureaus that handle your logbooks or IFTA and IRP filings for advice.
Just make sure you have good cell reception when you call.
Sandy Johnson has been managing IFTA, IRP, and other fleet taxes for more than 25 years. She is the author of the free book, “7 Things You Need to Know About Fleet Taxes,” and operates northstarfleet.com, which provides vehicle tax and license compliance services for trucking operations. She can be reached at 877-860-8025 or info@northstarfleet.com.
