New study lacks relevant data to conclude electronic logging devices would reduce truck crashes

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo., May 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association responded with criticism to a study by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which claims that electronic logging devices would lower truck crash rates.

"The study's conclusion is flawed because it included all other types of crashes except those that supposedly would be prevented with electronic logging devices," said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer.

VTTI released a report on research they conducted for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that said trucks with electronic hours-of-service recorders, "EHSRs," would have 11.7 percent fewer preventable crashes and 5.1 percent fewer non-preventable crashes than trucks without such devices. The study's stated premise for the safety benefits of EHSRs is that they would increase HOS compliance, which would in turn reduce driver fatigue and fatigue-related crashes.

However, the report's researchers readily admit that there wasn't enough data to find any safety benefits when comparing DOT-recordable or fatigue-related crashes (Department of Transportation). The report said that small sample sizes limited the ability to determine a significant difference between trucks with EHSRs and trucks without EHSRs for fatigue-related crashes.

"The possible changes that hold the most promise in improving highway safety are things like driver training, better working environments, support systems and safe parking," said Spencer.

"We'd like to see well-trained drivers put into trucks instead of unproven technology. It is the hallmark of a bureaucracy to embrace billion-dollar mandates in the name of safety while all but ignoring the absence of even basic driver training for new drivers entering the industry."

OOIDA's full review of the study is linked here.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the only national trade association representing the interests of all professional truck drivers and small-business trucking companies. OOIDA, with nearly 150,000 active members nationwide, was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo. area.

NOTE: Other acronyms such as ELDs or EOBRs (electronic on-board recorders) have been used to describe these same devices in other reports, news articles and documents.

SOURCE Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association