The final rule on electronic onboard recorders is on track for publication soon. The White House Office of Management and Budget finished its review of the rule and returned it to the Department of Transportation yesterday.


If publication comes next week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration would be able to discuss the rule at its hours of service listening session starting at 10 a.m. March 26 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky.

Details are not yet available, but the rule will require recorders for carriers that fail to meet hours of service standards. It also will encourage voluntary use of recorders by various incentives, and will spell out new performance standards for the devices, taking into account the myriad of technological developments that have occurred since the current voluntary rule was established in 1988.

This rule will set the stage for additional changes in EOBR requirements. The agency is considering another rule that would expand the recorder mandate, possibly to all carriers, and change its supporting documents requirements - perhaps reducing or eliminating the paperwork now required for HOS compliance.

In another development, FMCSA sent its proposal for banning text messaging while driving over to the White House OMB.