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If an amendment to block funding for an electronic onboard recorder mandate does not make it into law, its main sponsor, Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.), said he is prepared to do whatever he can to stop the federal government from mandating such devices.

Yes, American Trucking Associations is a staunch supporter of the federal mandate requiring electronic logging devices to monitor hours-of-service compliance for the nation’s truck drivers.

One of the letters to the editor of your publication written by a safety manager recently did an excellent job of making our point about “harassment” and electronic onboard recorders, or EOBRs.

Highway safety is one of the trucking industry’s top priorities, and we have long supported the industry’s efforts to employ technology in enhancing the safety of our employees’ workplace and the safety of everyone who shares our nation’s highways.

The House approved a bill on June 29 that would block any federal mandate requiring the use of electronic onboard recorders on vehicles, including a regulation included in the highway funding legislation President Obama was expected to sign late last week.

The House on Friday passed a transportation spending measure that would block rules requiring electronic onboard recorders on trucks.

Allied Systems Holdings Inc., the largest U.S. car hauler, last week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the second time it has done so, saying it’s continuing to provide service and blaming weakness in the car and light-truck business for the move.

Vehicle hauler Allied Systems Holdings said it is restructuring its finances after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday.

Those in our industry can make whatever excuses they want for not using EOBRs. The bottom line is they haven’t wrapped their minds around how to make money legally. I mean, they might as well be bootlegging whiskey. It’s the same damn thing.

We live in an age of electronic information. Computers, the Internet, iPhones, iPads, GPS . . . all these technological wonders work to make our lives easier, reduce paperwork and give us all more time to do other things.