Electronic on Board Recorders May Be Required for Trucking

As an Atlanta lawyer handling trucking accident cases, I have seen many illustrations of why truck driver logs on paper are often referred to as “comic books.”  That’s why I was encouraged to see that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration  may expand its proposed requirement for electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) to include all carriers.

The FMCSA’s proposal calls for an EOBRs mandate only for “repeat violators” of hours-of-service rules.  Earlier the National Transportation Safety Board, expressed concern that the rule currently on the table lacks the “resources or processes necessary to identify and discipline all carriers and drivers who are pattern violators.” “The only way in which EOBRs can effectively help stem hours-of-service violations, and thereby reduce accidents involving a commercial driver’s reduced alertness or fatigue, is for the FMCSA to mandate EOBR installation and use by all operators,” the NTSB said.

The Shigley Law Firm  represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, bus wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, dump truck wrecks.