Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 26

ELDer Care
How Driver Monitoring Is Changing Group Travel

"CAN YOU DRIVE us to just one more
monument?" "Sorry to bother you, but can
you take my group to the movies tonight?"
"My student needs to have a prescription
filled. Can you find a drug store?"
Until now, many motorcoach drivers
have been happy to do such favors, even
though they're outside a group's itinerary.
"Those days are coming to an end," says
Bryan Cole, president of ABA member
Super Holiday Tours, based in Orlando,
Fla. "With ELDs, the days of doing favors
are probably numbered, and a driver is
only going to be allowed to do what he's
allowed to do."
The reason is the ELD, or Electronic
Logging Device. It monitors and records
how many hours a driver is behind the
wheel. Starting in December, these small
units (typically mounted at the driver's side

ELD Fast Facts
* ELDs monitor and record
drivers' hours of service.
* ELDs must be installed in
all motorcoaches by Dec.
18, 2017, to comply with
FMCSA rules.
* Companies that sell ELDs
must be FMCSA-approved.

26

DESTINATIONS

/ NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017

and visible to passengers) will be installed
in every bus to conform with a new Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) rule.
Like aircraft pilots, ship captains, and
train engineers, bus drivers are only
allowed to work so many hours a day-15
(with 10 hours behind the wheel), according to U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) regulations. The reason is obvious:
to take tired drivers off the road, thus keeping passengers and other motorists safe.
"I'm not an electronics guy, but it makes
sense to use ELDs for safety, reliability,
and tracking," says Tom Goebel, owner of
ABA member Barons Bus, which is headquartered in Cleveland. "You're taking one
more thing out of your drivers' hands. They
have enough to worry about. You have to
think about the most valuable commodity
we haul-human lives. I see no negatives in
using ELDs."
"While some still view ELDs as an added
cost and imposition, most are finding
them easy to use, and they're being wellaccepted by drivers and the companies,"
says ABA President and CEO Peter
Pantuso, CTIS. "They are also an 'equalizer.' Companies who may have operated
under the radar and tried to push the
driving hours limits now must follow the
same legal requirements for drivers' hours
or quickly be identified through electronic

logs and reports, all of which will easily be
accessible to enforcement officials."
Until now, drivers have had to keep trip
diaries in paper logbooks. These are also
used to track fuel purchases and when
buses cross state lines, duties that ELDs
will assume. Most industry observers agree
that some minor, inadvertent overtime
driving violations have always occurred
and often gone unnoticed.
That was what ABA member Capitol
Bus Lines Inc. of West Columbia, S.C.,
discovered when it became an early ELD
adopter in 2014. Says its president, Buddy
Young: "During the first year we found a lot
of small, 10- to 20-minute violations. Since
then, we've scrutinized our itineraries
better, and we've seen those violations take
a significant drop."
"It's all because of traffic congestion,"
he adds. "Five or six years ago, we could
do the same trip, and it was all a very legal
day. Now, all of a sudden, that day's travel is
a violation."
Goebel agrees that ELDs can make legal
problems go away. "Paperwork was always
a challenge. Fifty to 60 percent of the time
when we were written up, it was related to
driver logs, because a driver didn't make
his entry right, get a time right, or the time
stamped on the toll ticket was different
from what he put in his log.
"I'm amazed that anyone in the bus

SHUTTERSTOCK.

By George Spencer



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017

Fun on the Farm
Gems of the Hudson Valley
Rolling Strong … and Healthy
Stones River National Battlefield
Traveling Together Is More Fun!
#ABACharlotte Action Items
Shop for a Great Cause!
Be Ahead of the Curve!
Snow ’n Sun Fun
It’s Never Too Late to Learn!
ELDer Care
Tour Stop: Temple Square
City Guide// MONTRÉAL
Travel Resource
Receptive Operators
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Cover1
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Cover2
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 1
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 2
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 3
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 4
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 5
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Fun on the Farm
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Gems of the Hudson Valley
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Rolling Strong … and Healthy
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Stones River National Battlefield
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 10
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Traveling Together Is More Fun!
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - #ABACharlotte Action Items
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Be Ahead of the Curve!
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 14
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 15
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Snow ’n Sun Fun
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 17
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 18
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 19
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 20
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 21
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - It’s Never Too Late to Learn!
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 23
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 24
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 25
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - ELDer Care
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 27
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Tour Stop: Temple Square
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 29
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 30
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 31
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - City Guide// MONTRÉAL
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 33
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Travel Resource
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 35
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 36
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 37
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 38
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 39
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 40
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 41
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 42
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 43
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Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 72
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 73
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 74
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 75
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 76
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Receptive Operators
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 78
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 79
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 80
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 81
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 82
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 83
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 84
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 85
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Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - 88
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Cover3
Destinations Magazine - November/December 2017 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pohlyco/marketplace_wrapup_2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pohlyco/marketplace_wrapup_2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/mcneill/abamarketplace2011_wrapup
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/mcneill/go_wv2011
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