Trackers on truckers sidelined following advocacy efforts

The cover story of the February 2023 issue of Land Line Magazine focused on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s efforts to require electronic IDs on commercial motor vehicles.

The article outlined FMCSA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking, as well as opposition from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and individual truck drivers.

Referred to by many as “trackers on truckers,” many of the 2,000 comments filed to the agency cited privacy concerns and government overreach. On behalf of its more than 150,000 members, OOIDA implored FMCSA to immediately abandon any attempts to mandate electronic IDs on trucks.

A year later, FMCSA’s electronic ID efforts appear to be sidelined for the immediate future.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fall 2023 Unified Regulatory Agenda, the rulemaking has been moved to the agency’s long-term actions, and no movement is expected in the next year.

It is evidence that advocacy truly matters.

Background

FMCSA issued the advance notice of proposed rulemaking in September 2022, prompted by a petition from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. The group claims that an electronic ID mandate would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the roadside inspection program by allowing officers to focus efforts on high-risk carriers and drivers.

The 60-day comment period prompted more than 2,000 comments. Many of the truck drivers who filed comments said that electronic IDs would be an invasion of privacy and would force them to leave the industry.

OOIDA comments

While it is not uncommon for OOIDA to oppose new regulations with no proven safety benefit, the Association’s opposition to electronic IDs stood out.

OOIDA turned to a famous science fiction novel to make its point.

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking 13,” OOIDA wrote to open its comments, citing the famous line from George Orwell’s “1984.”

OOIDA said the intrusive mandate would be another example of “Big Brother” in the industry.

“OOIDA does not support the erosion of privacy, nor the destruction of identity through surveillance and control,” the Association wrote. “To ask for more surveillance and control in the name of safety on our highways is to venture into what George Orwell would call ‘doublespeak.’ The term ‘Big Brother’ has come to signify government control of and intrusion into truckers’ individual lives.”

Citing Fourth Amendment concerns, OOIDA said that the mandate would be a warrantless search activity.

“Any proposed inspection scheme must comply with the applicable federal and state administrative search standards,” the Association wrote. “The agency’s proposal demonstrates that there remains much work to be done to ensure that any new inspection/identification scheme protects individual privacy rights in accordance with the Constitution. Many of the questions asked by the agency reveal that it is far from a foregone conclusion that warrantless unique electronic identifier searches can be justified under the Constitution.”

OOIDA urged the agency to stop the rulemaking.

“We encourage FMCSA to immediately abandon this proposal,” OOIDA wrote. “We plan to vigorously oppose any subsequent steps this agency takes to mandate the use of unique electronic identifiers.”

Battle won

FMCSA’s decision to at least sideline the electronic ID proposal for now shows how important it is for truck drivers to voice their opinions.

Although it’s possible this rulemaking could return one day, comments from OOIDA and individual truckers showed the agency that getting this proposal across the finish line won’t be easy. LL