Why Don't Some Trucking Companies Use GPS Tracking for their Truck Drivers?
Do Trucking Companies Intentionally Avoid Using GPS Tracking?
While many large trucking companies use GPS tracking of drivers for safety and liability reasons, many medium and smaller motor carriers avoid using GPS tracking because they want drivers to exceed driving time limits to make more profit. The FMCSR limits the hours a truck driver can drive. Truckers violating the maximum hours rules don't want to be tracked.
The 7 Reasons Trucking Companies Don't Use GPS Tracking are:
1. Exceeding driving hours limits increases profit
Because the more miles their truck drivers travel, the more profit the trucking company makes.
2. Choosing profit over safety
Trucking companies that don't care about breaking the law choose to intentionally ignore Part 395 on maximum hours limits choosing profit over safety. Obviously if a driver has a 14 hour limit and the company pushes the truck driver 18 hours a day, they can move more cargo and increase profit.
3. GPS tracking adds costs
GPS tracking can add costs to their overhead which reduces the net profit.
4. GPS tracking proves violations
GPS tracking can prove speeding, maximum hours violations, erratic driving, reckless driving, and other violations of the FMCSR safety regulations. By avoiding the use of the GPS tracking it becomes harder to factually prove the truck driver or motor carrier acted negligently or recklessly. The GPS monitoring creates evidence for lawyers to prove negligence.
5. GPS tracking reveals insufficient hours
GPS tracking can tell dispatchers that a driver does not have sufficient hours remaining to lawfully deliver a load and they need the load delivered on time. This means either have the driver stop for the day or get a second driver that increases overhead and decreases profit.
6. GPS tracking can reroute around bad weather
GPS tracking can pinpoint the location of truck drivers to dispatch them around bad weather conditions, but that increases the cost of fuel, time, and labor so they prefer forcing drivers to continue driving through dangerous weather like, snow, ice, rainstorms, dust storms, fog, and other dangerous conditions.
7. GPS tracking proves safety violations
Trucking companies that do not care about following the required safety plans for hiring, training, supervising and dispatching drivers do not want GPS tracking on their drivers because it can prove they are willfully or recklessly encouraging their drivers to break the minimum safety standards of care under the FMCSR.
Have a question about GPS tracking for large trucks? You can call Brad's cell phone at (316) 706-5020 for immediate support.
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