FMCSA Weighing Public Comments on Proposed Onboard Recorder Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will continue to accept public comments about the agency’s proposed on-board recorder rule until Apr. 18. The FMCSA’s proposed rule change would require truck and bus companies with a history of serious violations to install electronic onboard recorders in all of their commercial vehicles for a minimum of two years. The proposed rule also would encourage industrywide use of electronic onboard recorders by providing incentives for voluntary use, according to John Hill, FMCSA administrator.

Specifically, the proposal would require the recording of basic information needed to track a driver’s duty status, including: identity of the driver, duty status, date, time and location of the commercial vehicle, and distance traveled. It would also add a new requirement to use global positioning system technology or other location tracking systems to automatically identify the location of the vehicle.

If adopted, FMCSA estimates that within the first two years that the rule is enforced approximately 930 carriers with 17,500 drivers would be required to use electronic onboard recorders.