OOIDA issued a Call to Action on Tuesday to keep pressure on a joint committee of the House and Senate to remove government-mandated EOBRs from the transportation authorization bill. Lawmakers are down to crunch time on the bill, and that means they could be voting any minute on whether to keep or scrap the EOBR mandate in the bill.

“The House and Senate are in the last stages of negotiations on a final version of the highway bill,” the OOIDA Call to Action states. “A decision on EOBRs could be made today.”

By the White House’s own figures, a government mandate for electronic on-board recorders would cost the trucking industry $2 billion, and some say that’s a lowball estimate.

OOIDA has long held that EOBRs are no more effective than paper logs at improving safety and compliance with trucking hours of service. The devices, which can notify carriers and dispatchers about available time left on a driver’s clock, could lead to pressure on those drivers to keep driving even if they are tired or in need of a break.

The Association’s Call to Action targets members in the districts of the 16 U.S. senators and 33 members of the House of Representatives involved in negotiating the transportation bill.

“Please call your lawmakers and ask them to pull the EOBR mandate from the highway bill!” the Association says. “Tell them that this $2 billion Big Brother mandate has no place in a bill about roads and bridges.”

Calling the offices of the committee members is a direct way to make sure they get the message. Click here to view the list of lawmakers and contact information.

If you don’t know who your lawmakers are or don’t have the numbers handy, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and provide the operator with your home ZIP code to find your lawmakers. OOIDA can also look up that information at 800-444-5791.