Bill Would Require EOBRs on All Trucks

This story appears in the Oct. 4 print edition of Transport Topics.

Two U.S. senators, with the support of some of the nation’s largest trucking fleets, introduced legislation last week that would require all trucks to use electronic onboard recorders to monitor their drivers’ hours of service.

Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced the Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act on Sept. 29, touting the endorsement of Knight Transportation, Maverick USA, Schneider National Inc., U.S. Xpress Enterprises and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.

“No one wants to share the road with tired truckers, but we all expect our stores to be full of merchandise,” Pryor said. “After several meetings with industry and Senate hearings on highway safety, I believe the most sensible and effective solution is to require the use of electronic on-board recorders.”

Alexander said the bill “will save truckers time, paper, and money, and it will make government leaner,” noting that the conversion to electronic logs could save the government $60 million a year.

Don Osterberg, senior vice president of safety for Schneider National, said the mandatory use of EOBRs takes any noncompliance issues “off the table.”

Craig Harper, chief operating officer of J.B. Hunt, said the fleets are supportive of the mandate because the technology has advanced in recent years.

“We feel comfortable that today the technology is at a point to where it can assure that we’re all in compliance with the hours of service, and by being in compliance it will better protect our roadways and the motoring public,” Harper told Transport Topics.

Greer Woodruff, Hunt’s director of safety, said the fleet has seen improved HOS compliance since it started using EOBRs. She also said this would prevent the small number of drivers who may make log mistakes on purpose “so they can drive longer.”

Knight CEO Kevin Knight said in a statement that a “uniform standard will prevent less regulated carriers that could exploit drivers and endanger motorists.”

Patrick Quinn, co-chairman and president of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, said in a statement that the use of the technology has allowed the fleet to improve safety and efficiency.

While Pryor and Alexander also pointed to the endorsement of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board, American Trucking Associations stopped short of fully endorsing the legislation.

“ATA recognizes that an electronic logging device . . . is a good compliance tool and we support its use for that reason,” said Rob Abbott, ATA vice president of safety policy. However, he added that “if Congress wants to promote technology to improve highway safety, it should provide incentives for a host of ‘active’ safety technologies that . . . have been shown to have measureable safety benefits.”

Conversely, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association spoke out against the proposal, saying it would only benefit larger companies and technology vendors.

“There is no data that shows  these devices will increase highway safety — none,” Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “EOBRs are a management tool, not a safety device.”

Spencer said the “burdensome cost” of EOBRs also made any mandate “unjustified.”

Woodruff, the safety director at J.B. Hunt, rejected the claim that the devices were too expensive, saying the most basic EOBRs are between $300 and $400.

“It is imperative that there be an inexpensive way for any individual to comply and $300-$400 is a price point that would achieve that,” said Maverick Chairman and CEO Steve Williams. “If an individual can’t afford $300 or $400 for one of these devices, he probably can’t afford a front-left steer tire either, so I think that speaks to the issue [of cost].”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration declined comment on the Pryor-Alexander bill. The agency is currently working on a more expanded EOBR mandate to follow its previously issued rule requiring carriers with a large number of violations to use EOBRs starting in June 2012.