Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/25194
FOR THE RECORD TRUCKING NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: EOBR If enacted, rule would require all interstate trucks to use electronic recorders Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposal that all interstate commercial truck and bus carriers that use paper logbooks to track hours-of-service compli- ance would have to use electronic onboard recorders drew a mostly negative reaction from many in the trucking industry. Mandate A The proposal would relieve carri- ers of the current requirement to re- tain certain HOS documents, such as delivery and toll receipts, that are now used to verify the num- ber of hours the vehicle is in opera- tion. Approximately 500,000 carriers would be affected by the proposed rule, FMCSA said. Last year, the U.S. Court of Ap- peals for the District of Columbia ordered FMCSA to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on FYI Jazzy Jordan in Runner’s World Jasmine “Jazzy” Jordan, who was featured in Truckers News’ June 2010 cover story for her cross-county run to support the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund and to gener- ate awareness about driver health issues, is noted in the March issue of Runner’s World magazine. The 17-year- old ran 3,161.2 miles from California to New York in 10 months to lay claim to being the youngest female to ever run across the United States. Truck Tonnage Increases in December Truck tonnage calculated by the American Trucking 12 TRUCKERS NEWS MARCH 2011 Associations increased 4.2 percent in December from a year earlier, ATA said Jan. 25. In its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report, ATA said the December index was the highest since Sep- tember 2008. December’s index increased 2.2 percent from November. For 2010, tonnage rose 5.7 percent from the previous year. Ton- nage declined 8.7 percent in 2009. Trailer Orders, Used Truck Sales Rise Net orders of commercial trailers rose to 22,915 in December, a 7 percent increase over a strong AVERY VISE HOS supporting documents by year- end. In December, the court gave the agency another month — until Jan. 31 — to comply. The court order stemmed from a lawsuit the Ameri- can Trucking Associations filed just over a year ago to compel FMCSA to move forward with a regulation as mandated by Congress in the mid-1990s. By the time ATA filed its lawsuit, FMCSA had already announced it was planning to link new regula- tions on supporting documents to an expansion of the EOBR mandate. In April 2010, FMCSA issued a final rule requiring carriers that have a history of serious log violations to install EOBRs. That rule takes effect in June 2012. Interstate carriers that use records of duty status (RODS) logbooks to document drivers’ HOS would be re- quired to use EOBRs. Short-haul in- terstate carriers that use timecards to document HOS would not be re- quired to use them. Carriers that vi- olate this EOBR requirement would face civil penalties of up to $11,000 for each offense. Noncompliance would also negatively impact a carri- er’s safety fitness rating and DOT op- erating authority. “This proposal is an important step in our efforts to raise the safe- ty bar for commercial carriers and drivers,” said FMCSA Administra- tor Anne Ferro. “We believe broader use of EOBRs would give carriers and drivers an effective tool to strength- en their HOS compliance.” The Owner-Operator Indepen- dent Drivers Association saw it dif- ferently. “EOBRs are nothing more than overpriced record keepers,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA. “This propos- al is actually another example of the administration’s determination to continued on page 77 NEWS BRIEFS November, ACT Research Co. said. ACT also reported December factory ship- ments were up 12 percent from November and 69 per- cent higher than December 2009. In addition, ACT said unit volume of sales of used Class 8 commercial vehicles increased 21 percent in December from November. continued on page 79 RANDY GRIDER