FMCSA Proposes Mandatory EOBRs for Habitual Violators

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed a rule Thursday to mandate the use of electronic onboard recorders for habitual violators of federal hours-of-service rules.The rule would require mandatory use of EOBRs by “motor carriers that have demonstrated a history of serious noncompliance with HOS rules,” the agency said. It defined serious noncompliance as a rate of violation greater than 10% over a two-year period.FMCSA also said it would offer incentives for the voluntary use of EOBRs by all motor carriers. Those incentives would take the form of regulatory relief from certain recordkeeping requirements, the agency said.“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,” said FMCSA Administrator John Hill.The proposal would require EOBRs to record information including the driver’s identity, duty status, date, time and location, and distance traveled, FMCSA said.It would also add a new requirement to use global positioning system technology or other location-tracking systems to automatically identify the location of the vehicle, which further reduces the likelihood of falsification of HOS information.