Truckers Ask Federal Judge to Lift E-Log Mandate

An independent truckers’ group asked a federal appeals court panel last week to bar the government from requiring drivers to install devices that log their hours behind the wheel.

The electronic logging devices, known as e-logs, will be required in most trucks used for long-haul routes by late 2017 under guidelines put out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last year. The agency says e-logs will reduce accidents by making it easier to enforce limits on how long interstate truckers can drive.

The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association argued that e-logs would violate the privacy of millions of drivers by allowing employers and the government to track their movements. Employers would also be able to use data generated by e-logs to force truckers to drive in unsafe conditions if they hadn’t hit their hours limits, lawyers argued.

Truckers are required under federal law to take regular breaks and to stop driving after 11 hours on the road. Many large fleets already use e-logs, but some smaller fleets and independent drivers have balked, because the devices can cost $500 per truck. They say they can track drivers’ hours by having them manually enter their start and stop times on paper.

Joshua Waldman, arguing on behalf of the government, said the latest version of the rule limits how data generated by e-logs can be used and who can access it. Devices must be made “tamper-proof” and track edits to logs, he said.

“It’s not as if these devices are constantly recording information and sending it out into the cloud somewhere” for government officials to monitor details like a vehicle’s speed or location, Waldman said.

The judges, members of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, pressed Cullen on whether e-logs were any more invasive than tracking devices used by airplane pilots or railroad engineers. Waldman said the devices were meant to be used only to track the hours of service, and only the records of violations will be reviewed and kept by enforcement personnel.

Source: Wall Street Journal