FMCSA May Balk on Categories, Not on Recorders

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration may consider collapsing the categories of driving operations, but it seems unlikely to abandon a plan to require on-board recorders to track driving hours.

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A general consensus emerged among roundtable participants that the existing categories complicate enforcement and compliance. And Julie A. Cirrilo, who moderated the third and final roundtable, asked pointed questions about how to craft a rule that would meet participant demands during the Oct. 5 meeting.

However, when participants questioned the technological capabilities and safety benefits of electronic hours-of-service recorders, Cirillo defended the agency’s proposal to require recorders on long haul trucks.

Having five different categories of drivers is particularly complicated because over the course of a week, a driver might be a local driver one day and a long haul driver for three other days, before becoming a local driver again.

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