Legislation targets ‘loophole’ on altering HOS records

Driving the bill, according to the statement, is that current law “does not clearly prohibit foreign-based personnel from making edits or annotations to ELD records used to track commercial drivers’ Hours of Service (HOS).”

The statement links to the CBS News news story and transcript about “chameleon carriers,” particularly those based outside the U.S., which has received a significant amount of discussion since it aired on 60 Minutes in Aprll. 

The 60 Minutes broadcast featured a discussion between driver Daniel Sanchez and a dispatcher in Serbia regarding HOS.

“After they’d already logged 11 hours behind the wheel – the legal limit – managers back in Serbia would illegally reset federally mandated time clocks to give drivers a fresh set of hours, as heard in this call,” the CBS report said, as it played a conversation between Sanchez and his dispatcher.

It quoted the dispatcher speaking to Sanchez as saying “we can fix your clock.”

“By the push of a button, I guess, somehow somewhere they have control of the app where they can just reset your time,” Sanchez was quoted as saying. “Just make it go away.”

“While edits may be necessary to account for circumstances such as rest breaks or refueling stops, concerns have grown over foreign-based dispatchers altering records from overseas while remaining outside the reach of U.S. accountability measures,” the two members of Congress said in their prepared statement.

The two Congress members have lined up a large number of trucking-related associations expressing their support for the legislation. 

Alex Rosen, the senior vice president of legislative affairs with the American Trucking Associations, said “roadway safety depends on consistent compliance with hours-of-service regulations, and preserving the integrity of electronic logging devices is central to that mission. Tampering with electronic logs is a growing problem that undermines enforcement, rewards bad actors, and puts the motoring public at risk.”

And Todd Spencer, the president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the group is “proud to support Representative Steube and Taylor’s GHOSTRUCK Act, which would prevent foreign nationals in places like Eastern Europe and Asia from altering the ELD records of American truckers. Importantly, the bill ensures that a driver has final approval for any edits suggested by their motor carrier.”