FMCSA extends comment period concerning electronic on-board recorder proposal

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently announced that it is extending the comment period to facilitate more discussion on the use of electronic on-board recorders, Occupational Health and Safety reports.

The Commerical Vehicle Safety Alliance and the American Trucking Associations recently requested that the FMCSA extend the comment period so that the proposal can be discussed in more detail. Under the Compliance, Safety, Accountability plan, carriers are required to maintain a Records of Duty Status in an effort to promote truck driver safety.

However, many organizations are opposing the portion of the proposal that mandates that carriers purchase and install electronic on-board recorders to help drivers keep track of their time on the road, rather then relying on their logbooks. These devices give trucking companies a real-time view of their employees' hours per shift.

Safety directors may be interested in enrolling their employees in online truck driver compliance training, which can train them on the new proposed rules mandated by the FMCSA and to keep them up-to-date on industry news.

According to the FMCSA, more than 6,000 compliance reviews were conducted by state officials in 2010. Furthermore, more than 9,000 roadside compliance reviews by federal authorities.

By Mark Priest

FMCSA extends comment period concerning electronic on-board recorder proposal

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011