II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 695 

To require the use of electronic on-board recording devices in motor carriers 

to improve compliance with hours of service regulations. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 31, 2011 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. ALEXANDER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the use of electronic on-board recording devices 

in motor carriers to improve compliance with hours of 

service regulations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Driver 

5 Compliance Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDING DEVICES. 

7 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Subchapter III of chapter 311 

8 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in section 31132— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

2 through (11) as paragraphs (4) through (13), 

3 respectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(2) ‘driving time’ has the meaning given such 

7 term under section 395.2 of title 49, Code of Fed8 eral Regulations. 

9 ‘‘(3) ‘electronic on-board recording device’ 

10 means an electronic device that— 

11 ‘‘(A) is capable of recording a driver’s duty 

12 hours of service and duty status accurately and 

13 automatically; and 

14 ‘‘(B) meets the requirements under section 

15 395.16(b) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula16 tions.’’; and 

17 (2) in section 31137— 

18 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

19 ‘‘Monitoring device’’ and inserting ‘‘Elec20 tronic on-board recording devices’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) by amending subsection (a) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(a) ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDING DE25 VICES.—All commercial motor vehicles involved in interVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:00 Apr 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S695.IS S695

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1 state commerce and operated by a driver subject to the 

2 hours of service and the record of duty status require3 ments under part 395 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula4 tions, shall be equipped with an electronic on-board re5 cording device to improve compliance with hours of service 

6 regulations under such part.’’. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 subsection (a) shall take effect on the effective date of the 

9 final regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Transpor10 tation pursuant to section 3. 

11 SEC. 3. RULEMAKING. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

14 Transportation shall prescribe final regulations to carry 

15 out section 31137 of title 49, United States Code, as 

16 amended by section 2. 

17 (b) PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND CERTIFI18 CATION CRITERIA.— 

19 (1) PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.—The regu20 lations prescribed by the Secretary under this sec21 tion shall establish performance requirements that 

22 require each electronic on-board recording device 

23 to— 

24 (A) be integrally synchronized with the ve25 hicle’s engine control module; 


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1 (B) identify each driver subject to the 

2 hours of service and record of duty status re3 quirements under part 395 of title 49, Code of 

4 Federal Regulations; 

5 (C) accurately record driving time; 

6 (D) provide real-time recording of the vehi7 cle’s location; 

8 (E) enable law enforcement personnel to 

9 access the information contained in the device 

10 during roadside inspections; and 

11 (F) be tamper resistant. 

12 (2) CERTIFICATION CRITERIA.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations pre14 scribed by the Secretary under this section shall 

15 establish the criteria and a process for the cer16 tification of electronic on-board recording de17 vices to ensure that such devices meet the per18 formance requirements under this section. 

19 (B) EFFECT OF NONCERTIFICATION.— 

20 Electronic on-board recording devices that are 

21 not certified in accordance with the certification 

22 process referred to in subparagraph (A) shall 

23 not be acceptable evidence of hours of service 

24 and record of duty status requirements under 


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1 part 395 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula2 tions. 

3 (3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The regula4 tions prescribed by the Secretary under this section 

5 shall— 

6 (A) define a standardized user interface to 

7 aid vehicle operator compliance and law en8 forcement reviews; 

9 (B) establish a secure process for stand10 ardized and unique vehicle operator identifica11 tion, data access, data transfer for vehicle oper12 ators between motor vehicles, data storage for 

13 motor carriers, and data transfer and trans14 portability for law enforcement; and 

15 (C) establish a standard security level for 

16 electronic on-board recording devices to be tam17 per resistant. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.—Beginning 

19 on a date that is not later than 3 years after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the regulations prescribed 

21 pursuant to this section shall apply to all motor carriers, 

22 commercial motor vehicles, and vehicle operators subject 

23 to the hours of service and the record of duty status reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:00 Apr 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S695.IS S695

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1 quirements under part 395 of title 49, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations. 

Æ 


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