OMAHA, Neb. – Werner Enterprises has become the only trucking company in the United States to be granted an exemption from the U.S. Transportation Department?s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration agency to use Global Positioning System technology to record drivers’ hours-of-service, replacing paper logs.
The two-year exemption is a milestone for Werner Enterprises and the trucking industry. After six years of pilot-testing and monitoring Werner’s use of this GPS technology application since June 1998, the FMCSA approved the exemption that no longer requires Werner drivers to prepare handwritten paper records of drive and work time. Based on this experience, FMCSA stated its belief that the exemption achieves a level of safety equivalent to or greater than that provided by the current paper log system.
?This is a great day which comes at the end of six years of hard work by many people,?? said Werner CEO Greg Werner. As of March 2004, Werner?s fleet consisted of 8,425 tractors, over 22,960 trailers and over 13,000 employees and independent contractors.
“This supports Federal HOS regulations that help to ensure truck drivers get ample rest and, consequently, are more alert behind the wheel,?? said
FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandberg. ?Innovation and technology are critical to achieving our goal of improving safety on the nation’s highways.?
