Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration February 1, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposes to amend the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to require certain motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce to use electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) to document their drivers' hours of service (HOS). Under this proposal, all motor carriers currently required to maintain Records of Duty Status (RODS) for HOS recordkeeping would be required to use EOBRs to systematically and effectively monitor their drivers' compliance with HOS requirements. Additionally, this proposal sets forth the supporting documents that all motor carriers currently required to use RODS would still be required to obtain and keep, as required by section 113(a) of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act (HMTAA). It explains, however, that although motor carriers subject to the proposed EOBR requirements would still need to retain some supporting documents, they would be relieved of the requirements to retain supporting documents to verify driving time. FMCSA also proposes to require all motor carriersboth RODS and timecard usersto systematically monitor their drivers' compliance with HOS requirements. Motor carriers would be given 3 years after the effective date of the final rule to comply with these requirements.