EOBR Proposal

EOBR proposal published in Federal Register

The long-awaited proposed rule on the use of electronic on-board
recorders (EOBRs) in commercial motor vehicles has now been published
in the Federal Register. Under the proposed rule from the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), truck and bus companies
with a history of serious hours-of-service violations will be required
to install EOBRs in all of their commercial vehicles for at least two
years.

The rule, published on Thursday, January 18, 2007, also sets
performance standards for EOBRs and offers incentives to encourage
industry-wide use of the technology. "Perhaps the most important
influence on improving road safety in the future rests with
technology," said FMCSA Administrator John Hill. "By integrating smart
technologies like on-board safety devices, we will improve safety in
the trucking and motorcoach industries."

Under the proposed regulations:

* Motor carriers that have demonstrated a history of serious
noncompliance with the hours-of-service rules would be required to
install EOBRs. If the rule were finalized today, this mandate would
affect almost 1,000 companies and more than 17,000 drivers.
* The FMCSA would provide incentives to motor carriers who
voluntarily use EOBRs in their commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).
* New performance standards would be mandated for EOBRs installed
in CMVs manufactured two years following the effective date of the
final rule. In part, the standards would require the use of a location-
tracking system, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.

The proposed regulations are not expected to be finalized until
mid-2008 or early 2009, Hill said.

The proposal would "focus on those companies who are most likely to be
a safety hazard on the road," Hill said, by requiring mandatory EOBR
installation in the vehicles of motor carriers that have demonstrated
a history of serious noncompliance with the hours-of-service rules.
This includes carriers that had a 10 percent or greater violation rate
for certain hours-of-service regulations during each of two compliance
reviews conducted within a two-year period.

The violations include:

* exceeding the hours-of-service limits,
* falsifying records of duty status, and
* failing to make or maintain records of duty status.

Companies and owner-operators that refuse to comply with the mandate
will be prohibited from operating in interstate commerce.

The FMCSA's cost-benefit analysis did not justify requiring all
carriers to use EOBRs, so the agency is encouraging their voluntary
installation and use through incentives.

Proposed incentives include:

* Revising the FMCSA's compliance review procedures to permit a
random sample of a company's logs, rather than focusing on specific
areas or drivers.
* Providing partial relief from the "supporting document"
requirements. Carriers using EOBRs would only have to maintain
supporting documents related to non-driving and off-duty activities.

EOBRs installed on vehicles manufactured two years after the effective
date of the final rule would be required to meet specific performance
standards. The standards would specify:

* What data the EOBRs must capture, such as the driver's name and
duty status and the location of the CMV.
* How frequently and accurately that data must be captured.
* How the data must be presented for law enforcement purposes.

Under the proposal, EOBRs installed in vehicles manufactured before
two years after the rule's effective date may continue to be used for
the life of those vehicles.

The FMCSA has estimated that the cost of EOBR purchase, installation,
and operation ranges from almost $1,000 per power unit down to about
$550 for a cell-phone-based solution.

Initial reaction to the proposed rules was mixed. The Teamsters Union
and the American Trucking Associations (ATA) quickly announced their
intention to support the proposed rules, with the ATA calling them "a
sensible approach." The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
(OOIDA), on the other hand, called the proposal "misdirected" and said
it will "do nothing to assist drivers to comply with HOS regulations."

The safety advocacy group Public Citizen said the proposal does not go
far enough. "These recorders should be mandated in an across-the-board
standard that treats all companies equally," said Joan Claybrook,
Public Citizen President.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking appears in the Federal Register of
January 18, 2007, and public comments are being accepted until April
18, 2007.
http://tinyurl.com/22wn9c (JJ Keller, source) http://www.jjkeller.com
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- gpsman

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