No trucker wants to be stuck in a dock for hours on end. It can take money out of a trucker’s pocket to keep them waiting to be loaded or unloaded. Deadlines and commitments can go out the window when a trucker is detained. Then to add insult to injury, the shipper might deny the claim for detention pay. Did you know that a trucker is required to have the equipment in their cab to prove their claim? ELDs provide the documentation a trucker get the detention pay the trucker deserves.
ELD Proof
The ELD Mandate in 2017 was supposed to track the hours of service (HOS) a trucker was working. There are options
- Driving
- On duty, not driving
- Off duty
- In sleeper berth
- Personal conveyance
- Yard Move (often recorded as On duty, not driving.)
It sure feels intrusive, having to record all actions on a computer device. A law officer can demand to see it. Bosses track it. But at the same time, the ELD is the best tool a trucker has to prove that they were detained over two hours – the threshold for getting detention pay.
Proof for Detention Pay
Once a truck stops moving, the ELD notes it. Time. Date. Location.
That last one proves that truckers were in the yard, waiting. That’s the key to getting paid – the proof that the trucker was in the yard. If the shipping lead claims that the trucker was late or the trailer wasn’t ready, the first piece of evidence is the ELD record.
Taking pictures of the ready trailer – to load or to be unloaded – is another key piece of evidence. Images with dates and times are ideal.
Contacting the broker or shipper as soon as possible – when the detention clock begins after two hours of waiting – is also a good idea. If there’s an obvious reason for the late arrival – say, the wrong address is on the rate con – which led to a late arrival, it’s good practice to be in contact with the shipper as soon as possible. Then if detention pay is owed, it’s not a surprise to them.
Communication Is Key
We’re not living in the past century where people depended on payphones any longer. There’s no reason that a trucker can’t notify a shipper or a broker when they are waiting too long for the shipping crew or a dock to open up. The shipper may not be able to do anything about it. Deliveries to their customers aren’t under their control. A broker doesn’t have any authority over the shipping dock crew a thousand miles away.
But talking can prevent many problems before they worsen. If a trucker sees that the two hour threshold is quickly approaching, taking a few proactive steps is smart. Reaching out by phone, text, or email can keep everyone on the same page.
Bad Weather
Did you hear about the 45-vehicle pile-up in western Indiana over Thanksgiving weekend? That wasn’t even in the snowbelt, and still, dozens of cars were banged up. (Fortunately, no one died.) By notifying the shipper and the delivery location, 6-hour delays can be handled.
These situations don’t qualify for detention pay if the driver is late, so it’s best to check the rate con for the conditions for detention pay.
ELD With TMS
The best option for a trucker is to have the ELD and TMS – trucking software – working together. That way, when a detention fee needs to be added to the invoice, the software and the ELD can communicate directly.
No one gets paid detention fees without adding them to their invoice. A complete trucking management software platform handles invoicing – so a system that works with the ELD is the best option.
TruckingOffice ELD and TruckingOffice PRO work together to streamline a trucking business’s accounting. That includes the taxes based on miles per state like IFTA. The exact mileage from the TruckingOffice ELD and the IFTA report from TruckingOffice PRO can give a trucker confidence that their taxes are computed exactly – not too low or too high.
TMS and Detention Pay
Probably, shippers will contest detention pay. But truckers deserve to be paid fairly! Use your TMS to track those payments and to professionally handle the disputes. When a trucker has the evidence from the ELD and pictures, it increases the chances of being paid fairly.
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