Fleets brace for the long-awaited regulation on electronic logs.

After navigating through hours-of-service revisions in 2003 and 2005, the trucking industry is preparing for a long-awaited rulemaking in 2006 on electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs).

One of the greatest concerns among drivers and carriers is the privacy of data. Many drivers believe EOBRs will give carriers and law enforcement officials far more information than they need to enforce laws and regulations. Many carriers also have similar worries and are concerned over misuse of data in litigation. And privacy is just one worry for fleets (See “ATA conditionally backs EOBRs,” CCJ, November 2005).

Current regulations allow fleets to voluntarily use EOBRs to replace paper logs, but the question on everyone’s mind is whether or not the agency charged with improving highway safety – the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) – will mandate use of these devices.

Three years ago, the agency sidestepped such a rulemaking during its revised HOS rules in Part 395 of the motor carriers safety regulations. Even so, the answer to the EOBR question should have been known by now: FMCSA was supposed to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in February 2006.

Due to the complexity of the topic and current litigation from advocacy groups surrounding the HOS rules, the agency said it was postponing its NPRM until June 2006. And FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandberg’s recent resignation announcement could lead to another delay in the rulemaking, says Dennis McGee, an FMCSA state program specialist for Pennsylvania and a participant in the rulemaking process.

So the NPRM may be months away, but the effort is clearly in the homestretch. When released, the NPRM will propose specifics about new technical standards for EOBRs and determine whether EOBR use will remain voluntary or be mandated for all or certain segments of the trucking industry, says Larry Minor, FMCSA’s director of the office of bus and truck standards and operations.