Mandatory Requirements Of Electronic On Board Recorders Can Considerably Modify The Method Freight Moves In America

By Brad Hollister

The freight industry continues to be under relentless stress from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)’s desire to implement a long list of rules. The sweeping reform from the current administration as overseen by Secretary Ray Lahood has introduced a substantial number of new regulations from environmental restrictions to safety guidelines and also quite a few much more. One of these new restrictions would be alarming enough, yet multiple controversial restrictions have hit the freight marketplace as well as or been considered by the FMCSA in recent months. The combination of many of these however has caused and will continue to cause pressure on drivers to be able to make a viable living driving trucks on the road in the upcoming years.

One such law includes the discussion of requiring Electronic On Board Recorders to monitor drivers. An Electronic On Board Recorder (EOBR) is an instrument which can be installed in the cab of the semi truck and is used to record the exact running time of the truck. The lack of accurate book keeping by Truck Drivers is the principal trigger of this guidelines from the FMCSA. The objective of the EOBR implementation would be to monitor actual driving time of every truck driver to ensure that paper log books no longer have to be kept in the cab with drivers. The United States Freight Marketplace has not accepted this new controversial legislation without a significant quantity of debate. Numerous truck drivers do not want EOBR’s installed in their trucks and also see such regulation as a violation of their privacy by the government.

The legislation requiring EOBR’s to be installed in the first trucks is on pace to be effective as of June 2012. According to this guideline the truck drivers as well as transportation companies who violate the hours of service guideline can be needed to install electronic on board recorders in their trucks. The FMCSA estimates that roughly 10 percent of violators will be required to install this Electronic on Board Recorder in order to monitor their driving activities. The purpose of an EOBR will be to record the location where the duty is changed and where the truck is moving. Drivers violating the safety procedures will have the option to maintain the information on the recorder but the recorder will be programmed to keep the original as well as fed information intact for future use. The information will be digitally recorded and kept for review by safety officials in the case of any accidents or other violations where these officials can retrieve the hours of service driven versus stopped. Paper log books currently perform many of the duties which are to be replaced by the implementation of EOBR’s. The EOBR will keep track of all operational and functional processes; record the truck loading and unloading time with location. It will also store the time a driver spends in his sleeping break.

Many Carriers, Owner Operators, and Industry Associations such as the Owner Operator Independent Truck Drivers Association (OOIDA) are extremely opposing the enactment of this controversial legislation. Privacy has been another major reason for opposition by truck drivers, freight carriers, and driver associations. These kind of groups have made the case such requirements aren’t necessary and claim that paper log books are equally effective as the EOBR’s may be. The first target of implementation will be truck drivers who violate the hours of service (HOS) rules at the time of implementation. EOBR’s could significantly impact the way that a lot more than 6,000 fleets operation along with effect the lives of more than four million truck drivers as the EOBR’s turn out to be much more widely implemented within the marketplace and effect much more drivers as well as freight carriers.

The truckers or freight carriers who voluntarily install the Electronic On Board Recorder their carrier company have installed them on their truck have reported it useful as well as easy to use. Some truck drivers have reported the device has produced a convenient way to manage their work time a lot more effectively. Truck Drivers no realize the exact time they have to drive the truck along with how a lot time they have to dispatch loads and find freight for their empty trucks. Truck Drivers may drive the truck for 14 hours along with sleep for 10 hours, ultimately driving the truck for no much more than 70 hours a week. Truck drivers as well as dispatchers can now plan exactly exactly what times they be required to locate freight for their empty trucks and also how a lot time they be required to get loaded with profitable freight. Truck Drivers can also not sit idle along with squander their valuable drive time waiting to get loaded at truck stops or other rig parking locations. After Drivers complete the unloading dispatchers can ensure the drivers are rested and don’t have driver fatigue before giving them freight access towards the freight marketplace of freight shipments.

In the event of accidents, the FMCSA believes the data recorded on the EOBR’s will determine whether a driver was guilty or not of Inattentive driving. The EOBR should identify whether or not the truck driver was out of Hours of Service (HOS) at the time the accident occurred. The implementation for these Electronic On Board Monitoring Devices will be difficult to get accustomed to within the beginning but should undoubtedly change the way that the industry operates by forcing drivers to believe twice about violating their Hours of Service (HOS). This law together with several other may continue to put pressure on truck drivers and make the workplace less enjoyable and also much more restricted as time goes on.

About the Author: About the Author Brad Hollister is an Knowledgeable Freight Executive with Freight Access (Freight Access.com). along with Director of Business Development for Freight Access, Inc. Hollister possesses a passion for Business Development by way of innovation, procedure improvement, along with implementation of the most current technologies. Feel free to contact him with any inquiries, opportunities, or recommendations (bradhollister.com) or (312) 450-3020. Brad Hollister.

Source: isnare.com

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