NTSB recommends stricter ELD regulations after blaming driver fatigue for party bus crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued new recommendations for Electronic Logging Device usage following an investigation into a fatal crash between a semi truck and a party bus.

The report was released Wednesday, August 29th after a thorough investigation into the December 2022 crash that left three people dead. The NTSB says that the trucking company involved in the wreck “created fictitious driver accounts for its vehicles’ electronic logging device systems that allowed drivers to exceed federal hours-of-service regulations and drive while fatigued.”

Because of these findings, the NTSB has several safety recommendations surrounding the safe use of ELDs. These include:

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should require ELD providers to create an audit log that includes date, time, drivers license numbers, anyone who edits the log, and any active driver list changes.
• The state of Virginia should provide new CDL holders with increased safety guidance, including fatigue management.
• Trucking company Triton Logistics should implement a process to verify the accuracy of driver records, better educate their drivers on fatigue and driving safely, and proactively use onboard video, inward and outward facing, to improve driver training.
• The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance should make its members aware of the crash and of the potential consequences of false log information.

The report also reiterated several prior safety recommendations by the NTSB, including the possibility of including forward collision avoidance systems in all commercial vehicles and requiring all trucks and buses over 10,000 pounds to be equipped with onboard video event recorders and use the footage to provide better training for drivers.

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