Two proposed regulations for the trucking industry are among the top seven most expensive regulations currently being considered by the Obama administration.
President Obama recently included the Hours of Service (HOS) and Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBR) rules in a list of rules that have been proposed to the public with an estimated annual cost in excess of $1 billion. Their inclusion in this list has been predicted to result in new scrutiny of the proposals from House Republicans and possibly hinder their implementation.
The new HOS proposal would come with a price tag of $1 billion and requires drivers to complete all driving within a 14-hour workday and complete all on-duty work-related activities within 13 hours, allowing for at least a one hour break. It would also retain the “34-hour restart” provision. Many in the industry see the proposal as harmful to productivity and the economy and have said the proposed changes would disrupt the supply chain, noting that many companies have organized delivery schedules and routes around the current regulations, including physically relocating drivers to make the most of the driving time limits.
The EOBR proposal’s estimated price tag is double that at $2 billion. It would require interstate carriers that currently use Records of Duty logbooks to document drivers’ HOS to use EOBRs to automatically record the number of hours drivers spend operating the vehicle. Smaller companies and independent drivers particularly are opposed to this proposal, calling EOBRs nothing more than over-priced record keepers and the requirement an overly burdensome regulation that simply runs up costs.
The HOS rule is expected to be finalized next month and the EOBR rule in June 2012.
