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Move Comes as Agency Proposes No Change to HOS Rule

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has sent its rule governing the use of electronic onboard recorders to the White House for review, in tandem with its announcement that it would leaving its hours-of-service regulation unchanged.

FMCSA Administrator John Hill told reporters in a conference call Tuesday he “anticipate[d] publishing an EOBR rule before I walk out of here on Jan. 20,” even though there are less than 90 days left in the Bush administration. That is the customary time the Office of Management and Budget takes to review new regulations.

Agency officials have said the EOBR and hours rules have both been fast-tracked, in the hope that both will be completed before President-elect Barack Obama is sworn into office on Jan. 20. The hours rule was at OMB for only 24 days before being approved.

FMCSA’s initial proposal was to require carriers with egregious and repeated violations of the hours rules to carry an EOBR, but Hill has said he looked for ways to expand that mandate.

 (Click here for previous coverage.)

By Sean McNally
Senior Reporter