ATRI Updates Two Key Environmental Research Resources
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The DOT playbook – e-fotm
FMCSA investigators are given a training manual — over 1,000 pages long — that provides step-by-step instructions for performing audits, finding violations, and issuing penalties. Included are instructions for weeding out ELD falsification. Follow these steps — taken from the FMCSA’s own how-to manual — to audit for false ELD records like a pro:
Consolidated Electronic Field Operations Training Manual (eFOTM) version 9.7.pdf
Go beyond the regulations! Review login/logout activity and any adjacent, unassigned driving time. This can reveal whether the driver has used another driver’s login to get additional hours or has not logged in properly to avoid violations.
- Check the location where the driver went on duty or began driving and make sure it matches the location where the driver earlier went off duty or into the sleeper. If the locations differ and there’s no co-driver, the log may be false.
- Check whether all non-driving periods began and ended in the same location by comparing beginning and ending odometer readings. If they differ but the driver’s log indicates a non-driving status, the driver may have falsified the log if no other drivers were present.
- Look for off-duty driving (personal use) and ensure that it meets the FMCSA’s personal-conveyance guidelines. Check odometer readings for excessive use of personal conveyance, as defined under company policy.
- Pay close attention to edits. Review the driver’s annotations and verify the edits were justified. Check the edited records against the unedited originals. Look for any edits of on-duty time to off duty or sleeper berth, which could allow the driver to exceed the 60/70-hour limit.
- Review your ELD back-end system settings to make sure no thresholds were customized to any value not allowed in the regulations. For example, the speed threshold at which a vehicle is “in motion” can be no more than 5 mph. (Contact your ELD vendor if a setting doesn’t look compliant.)
- Review any ELD malfunctions and data diagnostic events to identify possible tampering, and make sure malfunctions have been repaired.
- Compare any available supporting documents and reports to the logs to verify that they are accurate. Pay special attention to any time that was logged off duty but which was actually spent performing an on-duty activity (refer to the definition of “on-duty time” in 395.2).
Take More Cases to Trial: Data Reveals Missed Opportunities
Doug Marcello
Why It Matters
Trucking companies are overpaying by settling cases that could be won at trial, creating a cycle of inflated claims and emboldening plaintiff attorneys.
By The Numbers
Settlement vs. trial outcomes tell a stark story:
- 50.3% of settled cases exceeded $500,000, compared to only 31.5% of cases that went to verdict (American Transportation Research Institute study)
- Only 1.8% of cases went to trial over the past decade, while 98.2% were settled (Sedgwick report)
When cases did go to trial:
- Defendants won 75.4% of the time
- Plaintiffs prevailed in 21.7% of cases
- 2.9% went to appeal
The Problem
Overpayment: Companies are leaving money on the table by settling winnable cases.
Market distortion: Settlement amounts are based on what other cases settle for – not what juries actually award. This creates artificial inflation in claim values.
Emboldening plaintiffs: Aggressive attorneys see every claim as profitable, regardless of merit, knowing companies will likely settle.
What’s driving excessive settlements?
- Nuclear verdicts: The existential threat of massive judgments makes companies risk-averse
- Attorney inexperience: Few defense lawyers actively try cases anymore, breeding insecurity that leads to settlement
- Business calculations: It’s often cheaper to pay than fight, but this feeds the cycle
The Solution
Be strategic: Nuclear verdict cases are usually identifiable – avoid those risks. But cases with good facts, limited damages, and favorable venues are trial-worthy.
Take calculated risks: Force plaintiffs to prove their cases before juries. Low-risk cases should go to trial more often.
Choose the right lawyers: Hire attorneys with actual trial experience who are willing to take cases to verdict.
The Bottom Line
Current settlement practices are driving spiraling costs. Strategic use of trials could significantly reduce payouts and discourage frivolous claims.
ATRI Report Shows Trucking Profitability Severely Squeezed by High Costs, Low Rates
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ATRI Research Highlights Evolving Truck Driver Demographics
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Your Truck’s Data Recording System: Part 1
Doug Marcello
Why It Matters
Every post-2000 truck is a rolling recording system capturing data that could save your company millions – or cost you everything in litigation.
The Big Picture
Your vehicle’s electronic control module (ECM) records digital documentation of operations: speed, braking patterns, clutch engagement, engine load, and cruise control activation.
How the Digital Witness Works
Continuous streaming: ECMs capture real-time data as trucks move, creating comprehensive records of vehicle performance and driver behavior.
Trigger events: The system preserves data when vehicles exceed G-force limits – hard braking, sudden impact, or dramatic speed/direction changes.
The preservation window: Manufacturers save several seconds of data on a fraction-of-a-second basis, showing exact speed approaching impact, brake application timing, and deceleration metrics.
The “last stop” feature: Some manufacturers maintain ongoing records of recent streaming data, preserving final moments even without triggering events.
The Data Destruction Trap
Here’s the problem: “Last stop” data disappears the moment you move your truck or activate the ECM post-accident.
Think about it: Once the vehicle moves or system activates, it’s no longer recording the “last stop” – data gets overwritten like recording over your wedding video.
The exception: Hard brake or sudden impact triggering events preserve data for that timeframe regardless of subsequent actions.
The vulnerability: Minor accidents—slow stops, sideswipes, minor impacts—may not trigger recording systems, leaving you without documentation when facing aggressive legal pursuit.
What’s At Stake
In today’s “jackpot justice” environment, this data represents the difference between proving minimal impact and facing inflated claims from billboard lawyers targeting minor accidents.
The Bottom Line
Your ECM data isn’t just diagnostic information – it’s your first line of defense against aggressive litigation. Every day without proper preservation protocols means gambling your company’s financial future on every mile your trucks travel.
Click on link below to see Doug’s video.