Feb 19, 2008 9:24 pm US/Mountain
Truckers Assoc. Objects To CBS4 Investigation
DENVER (CBS4) ―
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The association that represents Colorado trucking companies is calling a CBS4 investigation on logbook cheating "outrageous." It claims the practice of falsifying the number of hours in service only involves a small number of drivers.
The investigation found that despite the association's claims, lying on log books is common.
All drivers of the big rigs are required to keep logbooks of their driving hours, but trucker Leslie Emorie told CBS4's Rick Sallinger cheating on them is common and showed him how it's done.
"I just add those pages in and change the numbers to match what I need," Emorie said.
The Colorado Motor Carriers Association insists logbook cheating is not widespread.
"I think it does a disservice to cast the net that is saying this is a large number, because it isn't," Greg Fulton with CMCA said.
Fulton said only a very small number of drivers cheat on their logs and the companies do not condone it.
Brian O'Leary has been both a company driver and independent. In fact, he won a CMCA Driver of the Year Award. Sallinger asked him if he cheated on his logbooks.
"I'll be honest, yeah, in the very way you said in the last story. You pull the page and redo them."
He points to long waits to load and unload, mandated delivery times and inflexible federal hours regulations.
"There are a small number of folks who tend to break the law," Fulton said. "We feel basically if those people are breaking the law, they should be subject to fines and penalties, and our companies fire those individuals in most cases."
Those caught cheating face a fine, are taken out of service, and their company can be penalized and fire them.
There have been ways suggested on how to stop cheating. One method is an electronic on-board recorder. One driver said it eliminates so called "fudging" on logbooks.
"I don't cheat on them," the driver said. "I have a Qualcomm computer system that keeps me honest, so there's no real way for me to cheat on logbooks."
Mandatory use of such computers has been proposed, but for now, that's down the road.
CMCA, in a press release, called CBS4's stories, "A disservice to the men and women truck drivers who comply with the law."
Sallinger has been flooded with email and letters since he reported the story. They came from drivers, their families, trucking companies and others. Many condemn the stories, while others praise them. Here's a sample:
"Delivery times make it impossible to make it on time unless you cheat."
"The problem is because they pay drivers by the mile instead of hourly wages."
"Usually these things happen because of an unexpected delay."
Timothy Brady, who drives and writes about trucking for numerous publications said "Most truckers who falsify their logs feel if you don't fudge on your logbook, you'll starve to death."
Consumer Complaints to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:
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