Trucking groups cite privacy concerns over electronic ID proposal

November 28, 2022

Mark Schremmer

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Privacy concerns were a popular theme among the more than 2,000 comments submitted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration over a proposal to require electronic IDs on commercial motor vehicles.

Prompted by a petition from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, FMCSA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that considers requiring all commercial motor vehicles operating in interstate commerce to possess a unique electronic identifier. CVSA claims the mandate would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the roadside inspection program by allowing officers to focus their efforts on high-risk carriers and drivers.

The comment period ended Nov. 22, with nearly 2,100 comments submitted to the Regulations.gov website. FMCSA will now be tasked with reading all of the comments before deciding whether or not to move forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking.

If the agency does elect to proceed, it won’t be because of a lack of opposition. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association called the proposal an “unwarranted intrusion,” while most of the other trucking groups and individual truck drivers at least cited concerns regarding the security of information.

“Perhaps the most concerning aspect of this proposal is FMCSA’s failure to address the shortcomings and security risks associated with previous technology-based requirements, including the ELD mandate,” OOIDA wrote. “There is insufficient recognition of the concerns motor carriers and drivers have continuously expressed about privacy and data security, and there are no indications FMCSA has taken any meaningful steps to alleviate these concerns. Barreling forward with a new mandate involving the transmission of sensitive information only intensifies concerns involving identity theft, cargo theft, security threats and more.”

Concerns

The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association said it is “deeply concerned” about FMCSA’s proposal.

“Requiring yet another on-board device to monitor their activities is highly intrusive, not only to the operator but to the carriers who are operating successful businesses in already heavily regulated industries,” the group wrote.

The National Association of Chemical Distributors said the purported benefits of the mandate wouldn’t outweigh the risks.

“NACD is concerned that adding a regulation to require electronic IDs poses the risk of burdening the trucking industry, creating security vulnerabilities, and exacerbating supply chain issues,” the group wrote. “Adopting this system would create more opportunities for sensitive information to be taken advantage of while also requiring business to adopt new administrative processes. Furthermore, there has not been any data to suggest that the addition of this kind of regulation would increase safety or inspection programs.”

Hundreds of individual truckers also wrote in opposition.

“This is yet another breach of our right to privacy,” Luke Weaver wrote. “If this information is being transmitted, then everyone and anyone can have access to it. This is a privacy issue. We already have our trucking company information displayed on our trucks. All necessary information can be derived from the information that is already on the trucks.”

The American Trucking Associations and Truckload Carriers Association did not formally oppose the proposal, but both organizations said that concerns would need to be addressed before they would endorse a rulemaking.

Supporters

Safety groups are the main proponents for a rule requiring electronic IDs.

“There is no question that electronic IDs will positively impact truck safety by making it far simpler and more efficient for law enforcement to use its scarce resources to maximize impact,” the Truck Safety Coalition wrote. “For far too long, FMCSA has largely relied on an ‘honor system’ when it comes to enforcing safety standards. Electronic IDs help provide overdue transparency and accountability in monitoring the safety and compliance of commercial motor vehicles in day-to-day operations.”

The Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety say the mandate would reduce crashes and save lives.

“FMCSA should promptly complete this rulemaking as truck crashes continue to needlessly claim far too many lives and cause far too many injuries each year,” the safety group wrote.

However, OOIDA contends that an electronic ID mandate could negatively affect highway safety if enforcement officers begin prioritizing roadside inspections based on potentially unreliable data, instead of observable safety hazards.

“The CVSA petition contends a unique electronic identifier mandate would allow their members to better focus their enforcement efforts on high-risk carriers,” the Association wrote. “OOIDA believes the systems currently used to determine high-risk carriers are critically flawed, such as the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, diminishing any perceived safety benefits of the proposal.” LL