New Administration, Same EOBR Rule?

This is the first full day of work for President Obama. Of interest to truckers is the new administration's stance on electronic DOT logs, EOBR's, and the role of technology in highway safety and reducing gridlock.

We know that President Obama has selected Peter Orszag as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Orszag is young (younger than me), well-educated, and is best known as the former director of the Congressional Budget Office who is also a literate and prolific blogger. He enjoys wide bipartisan support, and his nomination will clear Congress easily.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the liaison between the President's administration and the federal bureaucracy. It is the final stop for a proposed regulation. it is really the final and only real system of checks and balances for regulations that federal agencies create.

We know that the 395.16 NPRM is left at the OMB by the outgoing Bush administration. The new OMB may pass it along as written, change it, delay it, or even send it back to the FMCSA.

We also know that President Obama has promised to apply technology and infrastructure improvements to reduce our dependence on oil - and EOBR's are certainly a part of that. Obama enjoyed the support of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters during the election, and the Teamsters are opposed to any EOBR regulation.

I have never been a fan of regulatory encroachment into the way we run our businesses. However, here are a few things to consider. EOBR's improve safety and have a definable and measurable payback. EOBR's could play a very significant role in a technology network reducing traffic congestion - also reducing fuel consumption and pollution. EOBR's can assist a carrier in negotiating with overbearing shippers who demand schedules that are too tight.