Chairman Hall Turns Up Heat Under 'Black Boxes'

February 2, 2000 11:12 AM, EST

NEW ORLEANS — Installation of electronic recording devices on trucks should be high on the federal agenda, but the National Transportation Safety Board chairman says not enough is being done by governmental forces to push the issue farther along.

	Related Stories
	Freightliner Corp.'s data recorder More Convincing Needed on Benefits of High-Tech Monitors (Jan. 19) DOT Inspector General's Report Endorses Hours-of-Service Monitors (Jan. 5) New ATA Chairman Embraces ‘Black Boxes’ as Inevitable (Nov. 10) (Note: To return to this story, click the "Back" button on your browser.)

James E. Hall told Transport Topics that the equipment should be used to monitor compliance with hours-of-service laws and should be used for accident reconstruction. He criticized the Department of Transportation for failing to require trucking companies to install the “black boxes,” which the NTSB first recommended in 1990.

DOT included data recorders in motor carrier safety legislation sent to Congress last year, and is expected to include them in its proposed hours-of-service reforms, which are being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget. Congress did not include a black box mandate in safety legislation approved last fall.

“The government has not done much yet to be proactive on technology,” Hall said in predicting that little will be done until after the presidential elections in November. In the meantime, he is stepping up his efforts to build support for on-board recorders.

For the full story, see the Jan. 31 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.