U.S. Lawmakers Propose Bill to Block Overseas Tampering of Truckers’ Electronic Logging Devices

Two Republican U.S. representatives have introduced legislation aimed at preventing foreign actors from altering electronic logging device (ELD) records used by American truck drivers. The GHOSTRUCK Act (H.R. 93969), introduced on June 18 by Reps. Dave Taylor of Ohio and Greg Steube of Florida, seeks to amend Title 49 of the U.S. Code to restrict editing and annotation of ELD records to authorized individuals physically located in North America. The bill follows concerns over reports of overseas dispatchers falsifying driver logs to overwork truckers beyond federally mandated safety limits, evading accountability in cases of crashes. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandates that all commercial trucks operating in the U.S. must use ELDs to track drivers’ hours of service (HOS) and prevent fatigue-related violations. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance began enforcing a new out-of-service condition on April 1 for drivers and carriers caught tampering with ELDs to bypass federal driving limits. The proposed legislation would require that any manual edits to ELD records—such as removing hours logged for rest or refueling—be made only by a carrier, dispatcher, or driver physically present in North America. Supporters of the bill, including the American Trucking Associations, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, and the Truckload Carriers Association, argue that the current loophole allows foreign-based actors to manipulate records without facing U.S. legal consequences, putting American road users at risk. The bill’s sponsors emphasize that truck drivers share the road with families and that ensuring their safety is paramount. The legislation has drawn bipartisan support from industry groups, with leaders such as Scott Perry of the Florida Trucking Association and Ryan Streblow of the National Tank Truck Carriers praising its intent to uphold HOS compliance and accountability.