EOBRs ‘step backward? for truck safety

EOBRs æstep backwardÆ for truck safety    The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) criticized proposed legislation to mandate electronic onboard recorders for interstate commercial motor carriers as just another way of putting small truckers out of business.
   The bill was introduced Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
   'With all due respect to Senator Pryor, EOBRs (electronic onboard recorders) will not improve highway safety. However, they sure will cost small-business truckers their hard-earned money and their privacy,' said Todd Spencer, OOIDA's executive vice president, in a statement. 'EOBRs are nothing more than overpriced record keepers lobbied by big business trucking companies to wipe out small business competition.'
   The association noted that EOBRs cannot accurately and automatically record a driver's hours of service and duty status. They can only track the movement and location of a truck, and they require human interaction to record any change of duty status.
   'In the case of loading and unloading time, the device is incapable of determining the actual duty status of drivers without interaction from drivers indicating to the device that they are on duty,' OOIDA said. 'Loading and unloading time should typically be logged as 'on duty, not driving' in order to accurately reflect the hours a driver has worked.'
   OOIDA also said the government has ignored a federal statute to ensure EOBRs will not be used to harass truckers. An analysis conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said 'companies use EOBRs to enforce company policies and monitor drivers' behavior in other ways.'
   'Companies can and do use technology to harass drivers by interrupting rest periods,' Spencer said. 'They can contact the driver and put on pressure to get back on the road to get the most of his or her on-duty time. This mandate would be a step backward in the effort toward highway safety and is an overly burdensome regulation that simply runs up costs.'