A recent article in Transport Topics discussed the possibility that the Electronic On Board Recorder mandate may be delayed. FMCSA had been pursuing a time line that would publish the final rule in June, 2012, but that seems doubtful. More time will be needed to determine the best type of interface to use so that roadside inspectors can download information from the truck's recorder to their laptop computers for examination. Here are some of the other issues:

• How to account for the driver's personal use of the truck
• Incidental moves, such as at a truck stop to move to a quieter parking spot
• Moves made by terminal personnel to position a truck for fueling or loading/unloading
• Ensuring data security
• EOBR manufacturers may need more time to deal with software and hardware issues

No one doubts that these issues will be resolved and that a final rule will be issued starting a three year countdown until all trucks must be equipped. These recorders will give FMCSA what it has long sought -- stricter enforcement of the hours of service. But that's only the beginning of the story. Electronics have steadily been incorporated into trucks but this will be the first time that there will be a real time record of truck movement and some people see possibilities.

At the Federal level the administration says that they're not considering a Vehicle Mileage Tax (VMT) to replace the current fuel tax structure. It's been tested in Oregon (on cars) but no one has really endorsed the program. The plus side for the government is that the VMT revenue doesn't decline as vehicles get better mileage or utilize alternative fuels. The downside is that there really isn't a convenient way to collect the information necessary to calculate the tax owed each time a driver purchases fuel and there's certain to be a lot of pushback from automobile drivers.

Under the current system the cost of fuel is known, each station advertises the pump price including tax. Under a VMT system the price of the fuel itself is a given and added on to that cost is the tax owed based on the number of miles driven since the last fill up. The actual cost of the fuel purchase won't be known in advance since the number of miles driven is a variable.

With EOBRs installed the data collection problem is solved and it's simply a matter of designing an application that will interface with the fuel pump and provide the relevant mileage information since the last fill up. Using truckers as a test bed for VMT shields the government from the certain pushback they'd receive from the general motoring public. Truckers are already used to paying fuel taxes by filing an IFTA report based on mileage, this is simply a new collection methodology.

It's interesting that a technology that is basically safety oriented may very well lead to reforming the collection system for fuel taxes.

According to FMCSA's Strategic Plan this is only the beginning of a march toward integrating technology into truck operation. Their interest in on-board safety systems including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, crash imminent braking and stability control systems will most likely lead to future rule makings.

The argument is that safety can only progress so far by dealing with the human element. At some point, in order to further drive down accidents, technology must take over for the driver.