EOBR * USA - Senators introduce bill to mandate Electronic on Board Registers for commercial vehicles

(Photo: Highway safety advocates and trucking industry executives have expressed support for the bill’s provision which requires mandatory electronic on-board devices)

Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker News Services -31 March 2011: -- U.S. Senators Mark Pryor, D-Ark, and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., on Thursday introduced legislation designed to improve highway safety by requiring commercial truckers to use devices that accurately monitor their hours on the job... Pryor’s news release says, this legislation would create a consistent standard to help companies and drivers manage the safety and compliance risks associated with trucking... The Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act requires universal installation of electronic on-board recording devices in commercial motor vehicles. The Department of Transportation will be responsible for issuing the regulations...  The tamper-resistant devices must be capable of communicating with the engine’s control module, indentifying the individual operating the vehicle, recording driving time, providing real-time recording of a vehicle’s location and enabling law enforcement to access the information contained in the device during roadside inspections... The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association objects to the legislation, as well as a similar regulatory proposal in the works...

EOBRS' * Canada - Inconsistent enforcement raises questions about e-log acceptance in Quebec

Are enforcement officers in Quebec shunning electronic hours-of-service logs?

Montreal,QBC,CAN -Truck News, by James Menzies -Mar 4, 2011: ...  That's the message some fleets are receiving; a message that threatens to disrupt the widespread adoption of electronic on-board recorders for the tracking of driver hours-of-service...  Jim Harris, fleet safety manager for Total Logistics Group, which has recently equipped its fleet with Shaw Tracking's electronic logging system - a system that was designed to meet the regulatory requirements of any jurisdiction. He told Trucknews.com his company recently received a $956 fine for, in his words, "allowing a commercial vehicle on the road without a logbook" ... The driver, Harris says, was pulled in for inspection by an enforcement officer who was not familiar with e-logs. The driver first offered to provide a paper copy of the records by faxing the documents to the inspector's office, however after some consideration the officer reportedly said a fax wouldn't suffice. The driver, who had a paper logbook with him, then offered to update it to match what was displayed by the EOBR, but the officer told him he had to update his logbook before leaving the terminal, according to Harris...  However, Arnold Yetman, carrier enforcement officer, Control Routier Quebec, insists carriers are welcome to use electronic logs in Quebec, as long as the systems fully comply with federal guidelines...  Meanwhile, Bessette & Boudreau, a 100-truck fleet out of St-Hyacinthe, Que. recently began installing Shaw Tracking systems in all its tractors, with the intention of automating their hours-of-service. But Yves Letarte told the carrier was informed at a Quebec Trucking Association meeting that SAAQ was not accepting e-logs at all, causing B&B to second guess its investment. (Calls to the QTA have not been returned)...  Some industry insiders have heard that SAAQ is reluctant to accept e-logs because charges for violations have little chance of holding up in court when they're not backed by paper-based evidence...  However, most systems from leading suppliers have the ability to send paper records to a fax machine at the touch of a button...

EOBR Mandate * USA - Compliance Or Convenience?

Electronic on-board recorders can improve productivity, but should they be mandated?

Washington,DC,USA -GAWDA -February 4, 2011: -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week proposed requiring nearly all interstate commercial motor carriers to install electronic data recorders to monitor their drivers’ hours-of-service compliance... The notice of proposed rulemaking, published on January 31, seeks to mandate the use of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) for all motor carriers whose drivers currently use log books to monitor their hours of service (HOS). The purpose of the mandate, according to FMCSA, is chiefly aimed at regulatory compliance... Smaller distributors are worried about the cost of such a mandate. In its Preliminary Regulatory Evaluation, FMCSA based the study on a device that cost $1,675, with a $100 installation fee, an estimated $500 in maintenance every five years and a minimum $40-per-month service fee... But distributors also need to consider the added cost of keeping employees up to speed... The combined cost is not insignificant, and would likely have to be passed on to the customer in one way or another. However, the cost of EOBRs is little next to the proposed penalty of $11,000 per offense...