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Congressman James Oberstar has proposed that EOBRs be required on ALL commercial vehicles in the next 4 years if his new highway reauthorization bill is passed. If passed, this will over-ride the current plan of the FMCSA to require EOBRs (Electronic On Board Recorders) in only those carriers who have severe HOS compliance and safety issues. This inclusion of the EOBR mandate in the bill has once again sparked controversy and discussion about the EOBRs themselves.

One of the most disturbing reasons to promote the use of EOBRs is that it removes ‘the human factor' from HOS and a truck's hourly operation. This was brought up during a satellite radio discussion about the EOBRs where the speaker said that the use of EOBRs would help the companies make the shippers and receivers pay detention time or load or unload the truck faster because the driver would be monitored every minute of his/her day. The EOBR would, essentially, document his/her whereabouts such as arrival and departure times without the driver having to key in that information. Furthermore, it was stated that EOBRs would stop dispatchers and brokers from making a driver ‘cheat' on their log books to make delivery/pick up appointments, again removing the ‘human factor.'

The original HOS regulations were put in to place to protect a driver from companies that might push them beyond safety limits. When the first satellite systems were talked about, it again was suggested that they would not only allow a company to track their freight and equipment, but would also stop falsification of log books and the dispatching of drivers beyond safety limits. The new HOS regulations went so far as to ‘remove the human factor' to the point that a driver could not determine for themselves when it was safe to run, whether or not they were tired and, once again, was supposed to stop them from being pushed beyond safety limits by their dispatchers and brokers. All of the above were supposed to prevent shippers and receivers from detaining drivers at docks and warehouse staging areas and make it so the companies could more easily receive detention time payments.

Removing the human factor from the driver in the seat of the truck might be good in theory, but is it a workable proposition? Who in reality benefits? Let's look at some pros and cons...

The Pros:

• The carrier's insurance rates will go down because the insurance world thinks that truck drivers are unsafe and promotes the controlling and limiting of drivers.
• Carriers will be able to track their drivers, loads, and equipment.
• Carriers will be able to cut down on office staff due to logs being recorded by computers from satellite feeds.
• Carriers may be able to receive detention time payments from shippers/receivers.
• Carriers will be more likely to weed out unsafe drivers.
• Carriers will be able to monitor a driver's available hours and ensure that the driver ‘maximizes' those hours to increase productivity.
• Drivers will not have to falsify log books to make pick-ups and deliveries, thereby avoiding prison time for that crime.

The Cons:

• Many small carriers will not be able to afford the EOBR equipment which runs on an average of $3,000.00 a unit.
• Drivers will lose running time during their shifts due to unavoidable delays such as construction, accident back-ups and traffic, thereby cutting their pay.
• Drivers will lose flexibility in deciding when to shut down due to weather or to avoid rush hour traffic, or to pull-off if they are ill or tired.
• Parking will become even more of a problem than it is because drivers will be forced to ‘maximize' their hours and will not be able to stop where they can find parking; they will have to stop when the machine says to stop.
• Just-in-time freight will not be able to run unless relayed or hauled by team trucks. This may put smaller carriers out of competition for this type of freight.
• Drivers will be scrutinized for every pit stop that they make, even for stopping just long enough to use the facilities.

In my opinion, EOBRs appear to mainly benefit the larger carriers who can afford to buy them and who can provide enough drivers and equipment to move the freight; the driver and small companies will be the most harmed.

Removing the human factor in anything relating to trucks or the driving of them is a huge oxymoron in the trucking world. Trucks are driven by humans, dispatched by humans, and repaired by humans. Removing the flexibility required to do any of those things is not the answer to any of the problems allegedly facing the industry at this time. Of course, if technology gets to the point that trucks can be driven by robots, then EOBRs might be a good thing, but then you wouldn't need truck drivers, just technicians, to keep the computers running. Wait, that would still be a 'human factor,' wouldn't it?