FMCSA Requirement for Trucking "Black Box" Recorders Will Save Lives

This past Friday, April 2, 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced a new rule requiring trucking and busing companies with frequent hours of service violations to install "black box" data recorders, similar to airplane data recorders, in their vehicles starting June 1, 2012. These devices, called electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs), will automatically record the number of hours a driver spends operating the vehicle.

Only companies with a "pattern of hours-of-service violations" will be subject to the rule. This translates to "10 percent or more HOS (hours-of-service) violations during a compliance review." Thus, companies which have maintained a record of steadfast compliance will not be required to install these recorders. In the words of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, "We are committed to cracking down on carriers and drivers who put people on our roads and highways at risk." This rule has the potential to significantly cut down the number of tired drivers on the highways, and the associated fatalities.

You can read the FMCSA press release here:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2010/Electronic-On-Board-Recorders-for-Truck-and-Bus-Companies.aspx