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We use a satellite communications system, and I would like to know if DOT auditors are using these records to check logbooks. Joeblow@XXX.com The DOT can and frequently does use the data from satellite communications systems to establish time markers from which they make comparisons to the drivers’ logged time. But that’s not to say it happens all the time. This is a really sensitive issue for carriers as they maintain the data is there’s and there’s alone, and not to be shared with anyone. The DOT has tried to say differently, but so far, the DOT hasn’t launched a court challenge to the accepted practice of allowing the carrier to keep the data private. That data could be subpoenaed at any time, and in the event of a civil litigation arising from an accident, the plaintiff’s lawyers frequently do use court orders to gain access to the satellite records. The DOT could also use the same approach with a particularly blatant case of logbook fraud. For the most part, the records are safe from prying eyes, but it’s certainly not entirely out of reach.
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