>>ilamon+(OP)
This article appears to have some political bent to it based on comments about immigration.

I was made curious about the possibility of an "intentional backdoor" in ELD (Electronic Logging Devices) that allowed truckers to misreport their hours.

I was not able to find results to directly confirm or deny that this was true, but it certainly seems like these recently-mandated ELDs come with security concerns: https://www.ndss-symposium.org/wp-content/uploads/vehiclesec...

>>maratc+M8
Yes, the OP claims many small-fleet drivers are being overworked, but provides zero evidence of it. By evidence, I mean data, not anecdotes. Do you have data on this?

---

EDIT: Link to data is at >>46173013

It looks like crash rates jumped after the pandemic, then declined in 2022 and 2023, contradicting the OP.

>>Klaste+M6
Tough timing for a condescending "why can't everyone's regulatory regimes just be like the EU" comment: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/after-years-controvers...

>>jezzam+ya
I just looked briefly at the data provided by the NHTSA, and what I see is a jump after the pandemic, followed by declines in 2022 and 2023, contradicting the OP:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/crash-data-systems/fatality-analysis-r...

https://highways.dot.gov/safety/learn-safety/roadway-safety-...

>>mrmcki+2c
This is some relatively neutral contemporary coverage of the Obama regulations:

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/teamsters-call-obama-move-fo...

The effect you describe of pushing independent drivers into (union?) corporate jobs seems like it was intentional.

>>typewi+rb
One state in India is particularly strong with its labour centric protectionism. As far as I have seen, most families' earnings come from one family member working in "Gulf". The labour unions there are a big reason why industry hardly ever takes root. One example: https://x.com/Bharatiyan108/status/1948757576427901138

>>cs702+jb
Because you only went to 2018. The article mentions 2014, and if we use your own DOT tool to build a table [0] from 2013 to 2023 (the latest year available), and filter to include large trucks and fatal collisions, we see... a ~42% increase in fatal accidents from 2014-2023

[0] https://cdan.dot.gov/files/files/e2451bc7-e1c3-4942-93f2-af6...

>>inglor+T8
> Am I alone in thinking that truck driving is an arduous job that ideally shouldn't be done by humans at all?

There are lots of people that do not have the capacity to move up the 'value chain'. All they are capable of doing are 'simple' jobs:

> To enlist in the Army, aspiring recruits typically must take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test and earn a passing score. The ASVAB, with a maximum score of 99, requires a minimum score of 31 for Army enlistment.

> The ASVAB test encompasses various subject areas or subtests, including general science (GS), arithmetic reasoning (AR), word knowledge (WK), paragraph comprehension (PC), mathematics knowledge (MK), electronics information (EI), auto and shop information (AS), mechanical comprehension (MC), and assembling objects (AO).

* https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab/asvab-and-a...

If all/many of those jobs are automated away, how are those people supposed to make a living? It's possible to be 'too stupid' to even be in the military (or at least be in it and have a useful role).

>>i_am_p+W7
Worked over a decade in transport logistics, various forms, tech in the latter half. ELD manipulation is as old as the first ones were introduced on the market.

Check the previous FW [0] article regarding undercover DOT officers, uncovering real-time manipulation of ELDs, and the blatant freight theft, mostly with corporate identity theft on top of that.

Paper logs - as known back then - were literally written out daily. To rewrite, you would just tear it out, and redo 7-10 days worth, right?

Well electronic manipulation is even easier, especially when outsourced to Eastern European countries with teams who work 24/7 in providing that service.

USDOT announces which ELDs aren’t allowed to be used - regularly. Usually because of backdoors, but in other times, the sucky software.

[0] https://www.freightwaves.com/news/english-language-crackdown...

>>useful+xU
Yeah, me too. I tried to avoid linking the actual page (the generated table has a yellow banner explicitely calling out that the link cannot be bookmarked), but with a private window I get 401'd too.

Unfortunately I don't have time to go beyond an imgur link, or asking you to generate the table yourself :/

https://imgur.com/a/Zn0UFbG