The U.S. Senate has passed legislation that would require commercial trucks to use EOBRs.

The chamber made that stipulation a component of its surface transportation reauthorization bill, according to the American Trucking Associations.

The question now is whether the House of Representatives will act on the legislation before the current transportation funding lapses. Even though that would pose critical problems for the federal government, there is no certainty Republicans and Democrats can hammer out a compromise – even on a piece of legislation that routinely sails through both chambers of Congress. If no agreement is reached before the end of the month, the federal government’s authority to collect gas taxes will expire.

That will provide some serious leverage for this two-year transportation bill and the proposed Electronic On-Board Recorder mandate for all carriers now required to keep RODS (records of duty status).

You can get ahead of the curve now with an EOBR from Driver’s Alert, compatible with the Geotab GO4 units. The devices simplify record-keeping and eliminate the inefficiency of paper logs.

EOBRs empower managers by providing valuable, real-time information about driver availability according to FMCSA rules. They also profoundly and immediately simplify audits and roadside inspections. Once you make the chance, you'll wish you'd done so years ago.