How can violations of the hours-of-service rules be reduced?
Current regulations allow drivers to use written logbooks of their hours, which truck drivers call “comic books” because they are so easily falsified. Onboard computers reduce the opportunities for violating the rules because they automatically record when a truck is driven and its speed. Europe has required mechanical tachographs, which are nonelectronic devices designed to record vehicle travel hours, for about 30 years. Mechanical tachographs can be more easily falsified than onboard computers, so by August 2004, new trucks and intercity buses registered in the European Union must be equipped with electronic recording devices. The Institute and five other organizations petitioned the Department of Transportation to require the installation and use of tamper-resistant electronic onboard computers on commercial vehicles whose drivers now are required to maintain written logbooks. The National Transportation Safety Board also has repeatedly recommended that such recorders be mandated.
