FMCSA Proposes Rule Requiring Electronic On-Board Recorders for Interstate Commercial Truck and Bus Companies

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a proposed rule that would require certain motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce to use electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) to document their drivers’ hours of service (HOS). EOBRs are devices attached to commercial vehicles that automatically record the number of hours drivers spend operating the vehicle. As discussed in a press release, the proposal “would also relieve interstate motor carriers from retaining certain HOS supporting documents, such as delivery and toll receipts, which are currently used to verify the total number of hours drivers spend operating the vehicle.” The proposal also lists the supporting documents that all motor carriers currently required to maintain Records of Duty Status (RODS) logbooks would still be required to obtain and keep.

On April 5, 2010, the FMCSA issued a final rule that addressed the limited, remedial use of EOBRs for motor carriers with significant HOS violations. That final rule required a motor carrier that was found during a compliance review to have a 10% violation rate for any HOS regulation in Appendix C of 49 CFR part 385 to install and use EOBRs on all of that carrier’s CMVs. The compliance or implementation date for the rule is June 4, 2012. The Agency noted that, although it received comments recommending expanding the reach of the rule beyond the motor carriers affected by the 2010 remedial directive, the limited scope of the NPRM prevented the Agency from doing so. As noted in the preamble to the 2010 final rule, however, FMCSA stated that it recognizes that the potential safety risks associated with HOS violations are such that mandatory EOBR use for a broader population might be appropriate. Accordingly, this proposed rule would expand the scope of mandatory EOBR use beyond the population of motor carriers that are or would be subject to a remedial directive as a result of the April 2010 final rule.

Under the proposed rule, interstate carriers that currently use RODS logbooks to document drivers' HOS would instead be required to use EOBRs. Short-haul interstate carriers that use timecards to document HOS, however, would not be required to use EOBRs. Carriers found not in compliance could face up to $11,000 per violation in civil penalties. Such noncompliance would negatively impact a carrier's safety fitness rating and DOT operating authority.

The agency estimates that 500,000 carriers would be affected by the proposal. The proposed rule gives motor carriers three years after the effective date of the final rule to comply with the new requirements.

The FMCSA, which has issued a proposed rule to amend its HOS requirements for CMVs, recently announced that it planned to hold a public listening session on the proposed HOS rules.

Comments on the EOBR proposed rule must be made within 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register, which is scheduled for February 1, 2011, and must contain the ID Docket Number: FMCSA-2010-0167. Comments may be submitted electronically through the federal eRulemaking Portal, via fax: 202-493-2251, or sent by mail or hand-delivered to: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.