Profile: okiemedic_66
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What's Happening Now
March 19, 2011 8:50 pm
Since you seem to think EOBRs are a good idea, do you think it makes sense to require them for for both long haul and short haul trips? Or at least for all trips that involve carrying passengers or hazardous materials?
It also sounds like you might be interested in looking at the Privacy post and the Cost post and responding to DOT’s questions and concerns of other commenters.
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Drivers, it seems to me that we are arguing a moot point. There are three areas I would like to quickly address: Legal authority for EOBRs, privacy of information, Liability and Risk Assessment.
The legal authority for EOBRs comes directly from Article 1, section 8 of the US Constituiton pertaining to the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce and the Reasonable and Proper clause. When we as drivers climb behind the wheel of our trucks, we have a weight of greater regulation and a lessor reasonable expectation of privacy because we are actively engaged in interstate commerce as provided for under law. We are no longer John Doe, private citizen. Given this, congress has given the USDOT the right to make regulation as deemed necessary and proper to ensure legitimate and safe… more »
The second point is Privacy of information. This too is a moot point because all of our personal information is readily accesible by almost anyone who chooses to view it. The companies keep complete dosiers on every driver (as required by law) and combined with the new 2010 driver safety datebase, there is no such thing as private information. Evet company, law enforment officer or agency, as well as any other interested party may gain access at any time. The privacy issue is a red herring in the debate.
The third point is liability and risk assessment. It has been my experience as a fleet owner and driver that there is a good reason why some drivers do not want anyone seeing what they are doing. There is an ideology that suggests that if we wont police ourselves, then someone will do it for us. That being said, in this present age, I welcome EOBRs because they take the falsification argument out of trucking opponents hands. I would even welcome 24/hr serveillance camerasand a complete onbord recording set up. As long as I am in accordance with the law, it makes the job of some personal injury lawyer that much harder. Remeber, people dont just go after companies anymore. They will go after we the drivers also. I for one do not want to owe the rest of my life to some other person because I could not prove my case. If we will accept and use the new regulations as a tool for our benefit, I belive that it will eventually make the best of us more valuable in the long term.
To sum up , truckdrivers are not like in our society, and for a few good reasons. However, the government has the authority to madate EOBRs and enforce their use, information privacy for truckdrivers does not exist in any substantial form, and in present day, the risk of not having one outweighs the cost of having it. « less
I have been behind the wheel for 23 years and I have argued for two changes that would greatly enhance the effectiveness of the new regulations. The first is that the shipper loads the truck and consignee unloads. In our present state, there is no reason for a driver to be required to do anything but drive. The Second is to lose the 70 hour recap for longhaul drivers and replace it with a system of mandatory 1.5 to 2 days off for every week out.
My reasoning is that the issue of recapturing lost sleep has been debunked. Better to enable the driver to recouperate at home rather than try to stretch it out while on the road.
With this in mind, 10 hrs/day is plenty of workloaf for the average driver due to the increased amount of mental stress as oppesed to old style physical stress in the… more »
The EOBRs mean less paperwork on the part of the drivers and companies, and gives drivers to operate by the book, which will increase safety.
As a side note, I am so fed up with the present state of the trucking industry that I now only drive on weekends and attend college full time to finish my graduate work in psych and criminal justice. Trucking is a youngman’s game anymore. « less