U.S. Legislative Updates

FMCSA Proposes EOBR Rule

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a regulatory proposal that will require interstate commercial truck and bus fleets to install electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) to monitor their drivers' hours-of-service (HOS) compliance.

The proposed rule will also relieve interstate fleets from retaining certain HOS supporting documents, such as delivery and toll receipts, which are currently used to verify the total number of hours drivers spend operating the vehicle. This portion of the proposal fulfills an order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia requiring FMCSA to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding supporting documents by January 31, 2011.

Under the proposal, fleets currently using Records of Duty (RODS) logbooks to document drivers' HOS will be required to use EOBRs. Short-haul interstate fleets using timecards to document HOS will not be required to use EOBRs.

Fleets that violate this EOBR requirement will face civil penalties of up to $11,000 for each offense. Noncompliance will also negatively impact a carrier's safety fitness rating and DOT operating authority. In April 2010, FMCSA issued a final rule mandating EOBRs for interstate fleets with serious patterns of HOS violations.

Legislation Proposed to Limit EPA Authority

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, plan to introduce legislation limiting the authority of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate carbon emissions. The draft bill, The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, prohibits EPA from promulgating any regulation concerning, taking action relating to, or taking into consideration the emission of a greenhouse gas due to concerns regarding possible climate change. The legislation does not limit EPA's ability to regulate vehicle emissions, including the proposed greenhouse emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

NAFA Fleet Management Association
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