The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed electronic onboard recorder rule has received the endorsement of the American Trucking Assns. (ATA). “ATA has always been in favor of strong enforcement of safety rules and regulations,” said ATA president & CEO Bill Graves. “This new policy just underlines that support.

“FMCSA’s own safety monitoring program, CSA, shows a link between compliance with the current hours-of-service rules and carrier safety performance,” he continued. “In addition to showing that the current hours-of-service rules are working, that data shows us that increasing compliance with those rules will further improve trucking’s already impressive safety record.”

The proposal would require any motor carrier currently using a Record of Duty Status for hours-of-service compliance to install an EOBR.

ATA said that while it supports the regulation, it contends any new law needs to address the cost of devices, data ownership and access to protect the privacy of fleets and drivers, and relief from the burden of maintaining supporting documentation.

“Many fleets already use these devices and they report not only compliance and safety gains, but also improved efficiency,” said Dave Osiecki, ATA senior vp of policy & regulatory affairs. “Those benefits make supporting an electronic logging requirement good business.”