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Feds Propose Recorders to Monitor Truckers' Hours

Consumer Advocates Call Proposal "Very Weak"

January 12, 2007

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After being rebuked by a federal court for failing to consider requiring electronic devices to monitor whether trucking companies are forcing their drivers to work beyond the maximum number of hours, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has released a proposed rule that consumer advocates called "very weak."

Under the rule, truck and bus companies with a history of serious hours-of-service violations could be required to install electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) in all of their commercial vehicles for a minimum of two years.

"FMCSA has squandered a real opportunity to protect the public," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. She said FMCSA should have mandated the records in all trucks and buses, not just those that have been caught violating the rules.

"We know that many more companies violate these rules because their drivers keep fake log books (which are so legendarily erroneous that they are known in the trade as “comic books”), but they are not detected," Claybrook said. "Under the FMCSA rule, these scofflaws can continue to violate the law without consequences and put the public at risk."

Claybrook said the recorders "hold great promise for detecting -- and deterring -- violations of the hours-of-service rules" and said they should be "mandated in an across-the-board standard that treats all companies equally."

"The goal is to get more trucks and buses using innovative safety technologies like on-board recorders that will improve safety on our nation's roads," John H. Hill, FMCSA Administrator.

Specifically, the proposal would require the recorders to record basic information needed to track a driver's duty status, including: identity of the driver, duty status, date, time and location of the commercial vehicle, and distance traveled.

It would also add a new requirement to use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology or other location tracking systems to automatically identify the location of the vehicle, which further reduces the likelihood of falsification of hours-of-service (HOS) information, Hill said.

On-board HOS recording devices that are installed in commercial vehicles manufactured on or after two years from the effective date of a final rule would have to meet these new technical requirements, but EOBRs voluntarily installed before that time would be allowed to continue for the life of the vehicle.

If adopted, FMCSA estimates that within the first two years that the rule is enforced approximately 930 carriers with 17,500 drivers would be required to use electronic on-board recorders.

To expand use of the devices among the more than 650,000 motor carriers in the U.S., the incentives for voluntarily installation include using an examination of a random sample of drivers' records of duty status as part of a company compliance review and partial relief from HOS supporting documents requirements.

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