Trucking group demands ‘modicum of research’ into EOBR

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The North American Truckers Guild (NATG) is calling for an assessment of the impact of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) on the British Columbia economy.

Larry Hall, a B.C.-based trucker, and president of NATG, has hand-delivered a letter to B.C.’s finance minister Kevin Falcon, outlining the group’s concerns about a federally mandated EOBR rule, saying it has “the potential to cause great economic damage and hardship in one capacity or another throughout North America.”

The letter to Falcon, a former minister of transportation for B.C., and currently the province’s deputy premier, says, “Over the past two years, it has become evident that this mandate could have a devastating impact on our entire economy.”

Hall cites Joe Rajkovacz, the director of regulatory affairs for the U.S.-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, who offers three reasons to oppose federally-mandated EOBRs.

* They will have virtually no impact on highway safety since the vast majority of hours-of-service violations are not related to fatigue at all but are, essentially, clerical errors by drivers. Incidents of truck accidents involving truck driver fatigue are estimated to be just 1.4 percent of total fatalities.

* It would be extremely expensive for truck operators, leading to an exodus of veteran drivers who would likely be replaced by less experienced new drivers.

* Unwanted government intrusion is driving up operation costs unnecessarily and acting as job-killers in an industry already weakened by the recent global recession.

“As a 30-year veteran of the trucking industry, I echo Mr. Rajkovacz in his sentiments regarding a veteran driver exodus from the industry leaving a vacuum of dilettantes’ to man the posts,” Hall writes. “I hear from many drivers that say that they have had enough and will pack it in if EOBR’s become mandatory.”

NATG argues that any constriction of freight flow as a result of an EOBR mandate will constitute a significant economic cost.

“The North American Truckers Guild feels strongly that this industry would be much wiser to invest in mandated education and training curriculums thereby producing a more skilled workforce rather than investing in more electronic compliance and monitoring – systems which are costly, burdensome and have proven to continually require more and more policing and auditing,” Hall writes.

He suggests a study be done in the Vancouver-to-Edmonton corridor (also known as Pipeline Alley) to ascertain the economic impact on Western Canada.

In a subsequent press release to trucking industry journalists, Hall said he is making his letter to Falcon public “so that the folks on the road can see that we are attempting to have a modicum of research done before the EOBR genie is out of the bottle.”

He said it is unlikely that an EOBR mandate will have a positive effect on any portion of the North American economy.

“It will definitely effect some geographic areas worse than others so we are left to wonder why it is being approached with reckless abandon – the economic impact of which seems not to be on anybody’s radar.”

Kevin Falcon represents the riding of Surrey-Cloverdale. He has previously served as the Minister of Health Services, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Minister of State for De-regulation. He also serves as Chair of the Treasury Board.

The U.S. has proposed a two-stage EOBR rule governing trucks that operate in the country. Canadian transport officials are currently studying the issue which could lead to a similar made-in-Canada policy. 

Proponents like the Canadian Trucking Alliance insist replacing paper logs with EOBRs will help level the competitive playing field and make roads safer with stricter hours-of-service oversight.