ATA Calls for EOBRs in Highway Bill

American Trucking Associations urged members of the upcoming House-Senate highway-bill conference to include a mandate for electronic onboard recorders, in order to help drivers and carriers meet federal hours-of-service mandates.

“We urge conferees in both bodies to adopt the Senate’s requirement for carriers to use electronic logging devices to monitor drivers’ [HOS] compliance,” ATA President Bill Graves said.

“These devices lead to greater compliance with maximum driving limits — which is very good for the trucking industry as a whole and highway safety,” he said in a statement.

The House and Senate are currently seeking to mesh their differing versions of a federal transportation reauthorization bill. Both bodies this week named conferees, with 43 in the House and 14 in the Senate.

Graves said ATA supports an EOBR mandate based on feedback from its member carriers who find the technology improves compliance, safety and operating efficiency.

Meanwhile, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said it opposes a mandate for EOBRs, saying they were too expensive for the trucking industry and that they hinder small business.