Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85442
LOGBOOK EOBRs mandated, funding uncertain President Barack Obama signed July 6 a 27-month highway reauthorization bill that stipulates the U.S. Department of Transportation issue a rule mandating electronic onboard recorders. Congress is wrapping up another bill that includes an amendment barring the use of DOT funds to implement the EOBR requirement. That bill, which will cover year that begins Oct. 1, 2012, still faces a Senate vote. At press time, Congress was adjourned. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has already started EOBR rulemaking, following a failed effort last year, and expects to issue a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Feb. 14, 2013. The reauthorization bill stipulates EOBR rulemaking must protect drivers against harassment. It also study to expand on a previous The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is expected to launch rulemaking on a recorder mandate in February. FMCSA report on driver fatigue and the 34-hour restart rule. Last year, a federal appeals court requiring the recorders because it lacked safeguards to shield truckers from carriers using the devices to harass them. The omnibus highway bill funds are unavailable for obligation until budget authority is granted through passage of the FY 2013 appropriations legislation. On June 29, the House passed the FY 2013 transportation appropriations bill, which the Senate placed on its calendar for consideration. The appropriations legislation Bill raises broker bond to $75,000 The recently passed highway reauthorization bill raises the minimum bond required of transportation brokers to $75,000 from $10,000, where it had been since the deregulation era. Freight forwarders will likewise be subject to the surety requirements. The bill also stipulates that surety providers must notify the U.S. Department includes Rep. Jeff Landry's amendment to block department funding for implementing an EOBR mandate. The Louisiana Republican said his district's truckers could not afford recorders. "Just because a few companies like the devices, we should not mandate that everyone use them," Landry said. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which won its lawsuit against the agency's rule last year, was pleased with the amendment. The American Trucking Associations, which supports the mandate, described it as a step back for safety. — Jill Dunn of Transportation of any surety cancellation, to be posted to the DOT website, and must pay uncontested claims within 30 days. In the event of broker or forwarder business failure, providers are required to publicly advertise for claims for 60 days following notification of business failure and surety cancellation. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Transportation Intermediaries Association, a brokers' group, lobbied to increase the bond minimum level to $100,000. Opposition from smaller brokerages, organized around the Association of Independent Property Brokers and Agents, helped bring the level down a bit. AIPBA had favored a minimum of $25,000. — Todd Dills 16 | Overdrive | August 2012