Will electric trucks have to file IFTA? People ask this question for good reasons. If the future of vehicles is electric engines, then what happens to the roads as the fuel taxes disappear?
Will drivers of electric trucks have to abide the the Hours of Service regulations from DOT? Considering how long it might take to charge a vehicle’s engine, will the downtime be counted as on-duty or off duty?
Will the human drivers riders of self-driving vehicles have to use an ELD to track their hours? Won’t the on-board computer system track the hours that the vehicle is moving?
So many questions about the trucking industry right now!
Driverless trucks, electric trucks, and self-driving trucks
Anything we say about driverless trucks, electric trucks, and self-driving trucks is pure speculation. When we look up anything about these topics, we see a lot more “this may be” or “it’s possible” than actual facts. So we don’t know about IFTA for electric vehicles, although we doubt that the government is going to give up on taxes on truckers. The maintenance of the highways across the country depends on those fuel taxes.
Many states have already started examining the impact of electric vehicles on the gas taxes collected. At least 17 states now have a new licensing or fee structure for electric cars. Some of those can be very pricy.
If the states are already considering what to do with cars, what will happen with trucks? Trucks will very likely have to recharge more frequently than they now purchase diesel fuel. Significant extra taxes will have an impact on the transportation industry. Will hauling freight be less expensive in an electric vehicle – once you count the amount of time it will take to charge a truck’s batteries. Will the additional weight from the batteries force truckers to take smaller loads?
Are you worried about the future of trucking?
Every time we see changes in regulations or in the development of new technology in transportation, there are always people who are going to oppose them. Some people might think of them as behind-the-times, stupid, or unable to adjust to a better future.
We think that the people who ask these questions deserve answers. So before anyone starts making fun of old drivers or brokers who aren’t jumping on the latest bandwagon – these are the people who have seen massive changes over the years. Electric trucks or self-driving vehicles may sound wonderful. But the future isn’t here. We owe everyone respect for their convictions and questions.
Because sometimes the questions point out the failures to consider bigger issues than just the economic ones.
Consider these questions posted in The New York Times article The Long Road to Driverless Trucks.
If these companies can indeed get drivers out of their vehicles, this raises new questions. How will driverless trucks handle roadside inspections? How will they set up the reflective triangles that warn other motorists when a truck has pulled to the shoulder? How will they deal with blown tires and repairs?
When doing the research on electric trucks, we came across a scientific analysis paper Rollout-Based Charging Strategy for Electric Trucks With Hours-of-Service Regulations
This letter investigated the optimal charging strategy for electric trucks, which allows freight drivers to determine where and how long to recharge trucks to complete the delivery task before deadlines while respecting the HoS regulations. We assumed that every truck has a pre-planned route with a given collection of charging and rest stations.*
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371509395_Rollout-Based_Charging_Strategy_for_Electric_Trucks_with_Hours-of-Service_Regulations
And then we laughed.
What do you think? Will electric trucks have to pay IFTA?
What do you think is the future of the trucking industry?
TruckingOffice PRO
Do electric trucks have to file IFTA? We’re not in the business of making predictions. We don’t know the future of trucking any more than anyone else does.
We do know that IFTA is still a thing that truckers must think about today.
What we do know is that if you’re running a trucking business now, you need a good eye to make your business succeed. That’s why we’re here. You’ve got questions about your trucking business today? Our TruckingOffice PRO trucking software and ELD system will provide the answers you need to make decisions today about the future of your business.
Your free trial of TruckingOffice PRO is waiting for you now! Get your dispatches, invoices, and maintenance records handled quickly and easily! Trucker Stats ™ will give you the data analysis you need to grow your trucking company’s future. IFTA and IRP reports to help you file your fuel taxes are just seconds away with TruckingOffice PRO.
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*Have those scientists ever been in a truck in traffic?
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