iTECH: The 'Black Box' Debate - Corrected Verison

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img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/iTECHlogo.gif" width=119 align=right>Government regulators insist that electronic monitors in truck cabs could help ensure that drivers comply with hours-of-service regulations. In a recent Transport Topics article, the monitors were confused with a separate instrument -- called an event data recorder, also popularly known as a “black box” -- that would be used solely to reconstruct causes of truck-involved accidents (“The ‘Black Box’ Debate,” iTECH, Jan. 13).

The National Transportation Safety Board advocates equipping large trucks with event data recorders. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants trucking to adopt onboard monitors to track driver hours. A few large fleets already use electronic devices to log a driver’s active hours — replacing the handwritten logbook.

The hours-monitoring equipment should not be referred to as ‘black boxes.’

Still, many truckers see these types of devices as a violation of their right to privacy, and the debate continues.

FMCSA said its 1997 research indicated that electronic hours-logging equipment could reduce the time drivers spend filling out paperwork by about 20 minutes a day. The agency also said fleet managers could save 20 minutes per driver each month in recordkeeping procedures.

Aside from NTSB’s expressed interest, there has been little discussion about placing event data recorders on trucks to aid accident investigators.

For the full story, see the January/February Issue of iTECH, which appeared as a supplement in the Jan. 13 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.