Eye on Trucking: HOS, EOBRs again make the headlines (will it ever stop?)

By LYNDON FINNEY
The Trucker Staff

10/23/2009

They’re baaaaaack.

After taking a back seat to freight tonnage and lost jobs, Hours of Service and Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) are in the headlines once more.

The ink was barely dry on Barb Kampbell’s piece on the latest legal wrangling concerning HOS in the October 1-14 issue when the letters started coming (see Letters to the Editor on this page).

And, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D.-N.J., made it very clear during Anne Ferro’s re-cent confirmation hearing to become administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that he wasn’t happy with the current rule.

Lautenberg said the FMCSA needs a leader who will reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities.  Drivers and passengers should not have to fear sharing the roads with a large truck, he added.

“Last Congress, my subcommittee (Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security) held hearings on the Hours of Service regulations put forth by the previous administration,” Lautenberg said in his opening statement at the confirmation hearing. “These regulations would increase the time drivers can operate trucks without rest by 40 percent, increasing the risk of fatigue and putting impaired drivers behind the wheel of trucks weighing 80,000 pounds or more. Even after being struck down twice in federal court, the previous administration went ahead and reissued virtually the same rules.

“I hope that Ms. Ferro recognizes the fatal flaws in the current Hours of Service rule and will commit to working with our Committee to create a better rule that puts safety first.”

Lautenberg delivered his feelings about HOS in a few sentences after questioning Ferro’s ability to lead the FMCSA because of her previous ties with the trucking indus-try as president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association.

Lautenberg noted that Ferro had publicly supported the current HOS rule then delivered the question she surely knew was coming:

 “Will you recommend to the DOT that the HOS rule be revisited?” Lautenberg asked.

“If confirmed, I am firmly committed to review the data, research and analysis be-hind the current rule and use that information to advance safety where and if it’s determined improvements are necessary,” Ferro said.

At this point, we are not convinced the current rules are dangerous.

No one yet has some up with conclusive evidence that driving 11 hours has caused an increase in fatal accidents.

Nevertheless, we also think it’s time for the powers that be to put this issue to rest.

It is not the job of the court to rule whether the 11th hour of driving is danger-ous and should be abolished.

We believe that is the job of the Department of Transportation and the FMCSA.

So it is with the EBOR issue.

“Even an improved HOS rule will only work if truckers follow it,” Lautenberg said in his opening statement. “Electronic On-Board Recorders, or EOBRs, should be used on every large truck to make sure we have accurate data on the amount of time an operator has been driving.

“Yet the FMCSA has failed to require these recorders on all trucks, instead propos-ing a rule that would require only 930 out of 700,000 carriers to use them.

“We need the current administration to mandate EOBRs on every large truck.  And we need Ms. Ferro’s support for this man-date.”

During questioning, Lautenberg point blank asked if she supported a recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board that all commercial trucks should have the device.

“The past administration did put forth a limited rule,” Ferro responded. “Examining the opportunities to advance safety gains with EOBRs would be among my top priori-ties.”

Putting an EBOR in every truck is unrealistic.

As former FMCSA Administrator John Hill noted as he left office, it would be very difficult to mandate EOBRs because the cost factor is so high that “you are going to have to save a lot more lives and eliminate a lot of crashes in order to get the kind of cost benefit it will take to outfit the whole industry with EOBRs.”

So here’s our suggestion to Congress.

If you want the 10-hour driving time restored, codify the Hours of Service rule.

If you want to hasten the day when all trucks have EOBRs, approve a generous tax credit.

Otherwise ….

Lyndon Finney of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at editor@thetrucker.com.

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