The use of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) has grown significantly in the past few years. They have proven to be very effective tools for hours of service (HOS) compliance management. Carriers using EOBRs have realized superior ratings for HOS compliance in the Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) program’s safety measure system. There are, however, some naysayers and skeptics that based on misperceptions have argued against the use of EOBRs. The actual experience of the industry, though, suggests that these are just “EOBR myths” and looking at EOBR related facts and industry’s experience (outlined below) clearly demonstrate the usefulness of these systems.

As the understanding and awareness of the dangers of distracted driving have increased, several states have enacted laws that prohibit the use of cell phones and texting while driving. Congress is working to enact legislation that will mandate that states pass anti-texting legislation and/or reward those that do. A movement is underway to impose texting bans and cell phone restrictions nationwide, just as all states now have seatbelt-use and DUI laws. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation has already expressed interest in establishing a regulation that restricts texting and mobile communications in commercial vehicles. The two regulations that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued to address distracted driving include:

On June 29, the U.S. Congress passed the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) highway bill. This bill includes an amendment that requires electronic driver logs to be used by all those drivers currently subject to regulation requiring paper logs. This action by Congress sets a timeline, scope, system requirements, and other considerations to achieve the mandate.

As you likely already know, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) in conjunction with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will conduct the annual Roadcheck program June 5-7, 2012. Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial vehicles in the world, with approximately 14 trucks or buses being inspected, on average, every minute from Canada to Mexico during a 72-hour period.