The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will hold a session later this month in Bellevue, Wash., to hear comments and new research pertaining to the development of proposed rulemaking on electronic on-board recorders (EOBR) in commercial vehicles.
FMCSA said it hopes to discover what factors, issues and data it should consider as it looks at the issues of commercial productivity – and safety – compared to driver harassment. Specifically, the agency said it is seeking to answer several questions:
- What will prevent harassment from occurring?
- What types of harassment happen and how often?
- How can the transmission of vehicle and driver data by EOBRs to motor carrier organizations guard against harassment? How might they fail to?
FMCSA also said the April 26 meeting will solicit concepts, ideas and comments from law enforcement personnel on the types of driver data they would need to see on EOBR display screens to effectively enforce hours-of-service (HOS) rules at roadside inspections. FMCSA also hopes to ascertain the type of evidence law enforcement would need to retain in support of issuing citations.
While the EOBR and HOS rules generally exempt school bus drivers, some private school bus contractors may be affected, especially those engaged in interstate charter travel.
