Previously in this series: A gold rush for ELD data
Leading ELD providers interviewed by Overdrive agree that carriers and drivers jointly own ELD data. A one-truck independent would be the sole owner. Customer privacy comes first. Beyond that, beginning with customer signups, there’s not much consensus in how providers handle ELD data.
“For the purpose of providing services, the [ELD] provider can use that data,” says Chris Atkinson, chief executive officer for FleetOps, whose freight-matching technology underlies the BigRoad Freight load-matching service. “That’s usually what you’re signing off on in terms of service agreements.”
An ELD provider that’s committed to integrity, some industry watchers suggest, will make obvious to potential customers any secondary or outside use of their data that’s granted through the service agreement. Likewise, the company would give customers a conspicuously simple way to opt out of unnecessary data sharing — or, ideally, prohibit all data sharing unless the customer takes the initiative to opt in.
Konexial requires opt-in permission for services beyond its smartphone-based My20 ELD product, such as the company’s GoLoad freight-matching platform or its GoFuel program, says Ken Evans. The GoLoad service leverages ELD data to determine rates, available capacity, truck location and more.
Carriers “sign a separate agreement allowing us to use the data they own for those services,” Evans says. If a carrier doesn’t opt in, “we don’t share any driver data,” he says. Konexial’s terms of service allow for aggregated, anonymized data to be shared or sold, though the company currently isn’t doing so.
