The nation's trucking companies may be happy with a new federal rule requiring truckers to use electronic logging devices, but an organization representing independent truckers is far from pleased.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that trucks and buses would be required to use devices that automatically record time and miles driven. The new rule, which goes into effect December 2017, is projected to save 26 lives and prevent 562 injuries annually.

The American Trucking Associations is a supporter of the new rule. In a statement, ATA CEO Bill Graves called adoption of the mandate a "historic day for trucking."

"This regulation will change the trucking industry—for the better—forever," he said. "An already safe and efficient industry will get more so with the aid of this proven technology."

ATA represents trucking companies with large fleets that can afford adoption of the new technology. The same can't be said for the nation's independent truckers, who see the rule as a costly mandate.

ATA's work with federal regulators on the measure amounted to the "the unholiest alliance in trucking," Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said in a radio interview on Sirius XM.

"The only way an onboard recorder could improve safety is if it could tell when a driver is tired, and they can't," he said. "Coercion is what this is all about, and productivity."

OOIDA plans to sue the DOT in court to overturn the rule. And the association believes it will be successful, having convinced a federal appeals court to throw out a similar mandate in 2011.

A third trucking group, the Truckload Carriers Association, is taking a wait-and-see approach. David Heller, TCA's director of safety and policy, said truckers should first take a closer look at the technology before rejecting it.

"I would emphasize giving them a try," he said. "We have had drivers who initially opposed them say they wouldn't drive without them. Before hastily leaving the industry, try them out." http://bit.ly/1YfeJCz

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