WASHINGTON, D.C. –Trucking companies found to have a 10% hours-of-service violation rate or worse during compliance reviews will be required to monitor HoS using electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) in the US.

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published its EOBR rule on April 2, which targets companies with serious hours-of-service violations.

It’s estimated nearly 5,700 interstate carriers will require EOBRs after just one year of the new rule’s implementation, the FMCSA predicted.

The rule will be implemented June 1, 2012 and the FMCSA warned it will likely come out with a broader EOBR mandate later this year.

“We are committed to cracking down on carriers and drivers who put people on our roads and highways at risk,” said Transport Secretary Ray LaHood. “This rule gives us another tool to enforce hours-of-service restrictions on drivers who attempt to get around the rules.”

“Safety is our highest priority,” added FMCSAAdministratorAnne S. Ferro. “In addition to requiring EOBRs for carriers that have already demonstrated a pattern of hours-of-service violations, we will initiate a rulemaking later this year that considers an EOBR mandate for a broader population of commercial motor carriers.”

The new rule also includes technical performance standards for EOBRs, which require them to record the date, time and location of a driver’s duty status. The rule also provided some flexibility for carriers who are voluntarily using EOBRs to track driver HoS. For instance, carriers using EOBRs will no longer have to retain toll receipts used to check the accuracy of driver logbooks. The new rule can be found at www.gpoaccess.gov.