Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/725427
commercial carrier journal | september 2016 11 JOURNAL NEWS ELD mandate too costly, intrusive, OOIDA argues in latest filing T he Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association last month filed another brief with the federal appeals court overseeing its lawsuit against the federal rule requiring truckers to use elec- tronic logging devices to track their duty status. In its Aug. 12 filing, the association again spells out its chief legal arguments against the U.S. Department of Transportation's December 2017-effective electronic logging device mandate. OOIDA's 45-page filing with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest in the ongoing lawsuit brought by the association and two truckers who are asking the court to strike down the ELD mandate and block it from taking effect. The brief comes in response to a 60-page filing made in June by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which defended its mandate against criti- cisms leveled by OOIDA in the association's original March 2016-filed lawsuit. OOIDA again argues in its latest brief that the rule violates truckers' Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches and seizures and does not meet Congress' requirements for the rule. The group also argues the mandate still opens the door for truckers to be harassed by their employers via the devices and does not stand up to a cost-benefit analysis. The costs associated with complying with the mandate, especially for small carriers and independent truckers, heavily outweigh the benefits, OOIDA argues. FMCSA asserted in its June-filed legal defense of the rule that trucking is a "pervasively regulated industry," thereby meaning truckers' Fourth Amendment rights are not at risk of being violated by the ELD mandate. OOIDA argues otherwise. "By statute, ELDs are intended to serve the ordinary needs of law enforcement," OOIDA argues in its brief. "This use is not covered by the pervasively regulated industry exception to the Fourth Amendment's war- rant requirement." The association harps heavily in its latest filing about the lack of a true cost- benefit analysis of ELD adoption, saying DOT erred in not providing such. Moreover, OOIDA claims, the ELD mandate does not meet the requirements set by Congress for the rule, as the devices only record engine activity and do not automatically record drivers' duty status. Lastly, OOIDA says the agency did not institute enough safeguards in its December 2015-issued rule to prevent carriers from harassing truckers with ELDs. The same appeals court overseeing OOIDA's current lawsuit, the 7th Circuit Court, struck down a previous attempt by FMCSA to mandate ELDs because of the lack of protections against driver harassment. The 7th Circuit Court is set to hear oral arguments in the case Sept. 13, when it's expected that OOIDA will further spell out the arguments made in its lawsuit and FMCSA will defend the rule's merits, its intentions to increase hours-of-service compliance and the statutes set by Congress. – James Jaillet AND TONS OF POWERFUL EFFICIENCY. ★ Detroit ™ engines are designed to deliver the best in power and effi ciency, no matter which one you choose. Pair it with a Detroit ™ transmission and axles, and you'll have a package engineered to work together as one, backed by a single manufacturer for greater effi ciency and profi tability. Find out more at westernstar.com/engines Daimler Detroit #86663 Western Star Brass Knuckles Ad 1/3 Page Vertical 2.25 x 9.5, 4C CCJ Commercial Carrier Journal 86663_DET_WS_BrassKnuckles_CCJ.indd 1 6/7/16 2:02 PM Untitled-4 1 6/8/16 8:55 AM The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers As- sociation again argued that the rule violates truckers' Fourth Amendment protections.