Europe has required mechanical tachographs, which are nonelectronic devices designed to record vehicle travel hours, for about 30 years. Tachographs can be more easily falsified than onboard computers, so by 2002, new trucks registered in the European Union must be equipped with electronic recording devices. The Institute and five other organizations petitioned FHWA to require the installation and use of onboard computers. Commercial vehicle operators who are required to maintain written logbooks would be required to use the electronic devices to record vehicle travel time and speed. The National Transportation Safety Board also has repeatedly recommended that such recorders be mandated.
Alcohol is much less of a problem among truck drivers than among passenger vehicle drivers.
Only 2 percent of all tractor-trailer drivers who were killed in crashes during 1999 had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.10 percent or more, compared with 28 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. A study in four states found that almost 5 percent of truck drivers tested positive for illicit drug use but only 0.2 percent tested positive for alcohol. Federal regulations require carriers to test all commercial drivers for drugs before employment, after crashes, and on a random basis. Alcohol tests are required only after crashes and on a random basis. New alcohol test rules were issued in 1994 that place drivers out of service if they are found with any alcohol in their systems.