Requirement That All Trucks Have Electronic Recorders

As previously stated, a motor carrier may require a driver to use an automatic on-board recording device to record the driver's hours of service in lieu of complying with handwritten logs. 49 CFR §395.15. For years, safety advocates have pushed for Federal Regulations requiring all trucks to have electronic recorders in an effort to detect and deter violations of the hours-of-service rules. Recently the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released watered down standards for electronic on-board recorders even though it had been rebuked by a Federal Court for failing to consider requiring such recorders in each and every truck so that drivers could not be forced to work beyond the maximum allowable number of hours. The hours-of-service rules which were intended to protect citizens on the highway, including truckers, should be monitored electronically so that travelers are not put at great risk by fatigued drivers.

However, instead of requiring electronic on-board recorders in all commercial vehicles, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a proposed rule that would require recorders only for motor carriers that have been caught significantly violating hours-of-service rules. Hence, those motor carriers and drivers who feel the need to cheat and/or keep two sets of log books (i.e., one for state troopers and agency inspections and the other for their employer) can continue to do so putting the motoring public at risk. Jere L. Beasley Report, February 2007.