Proposal for New Hours of Service Rules for Commercial Truck Drivers Being Reviewed
In an effort to reduce trucking accidents caused by fatigued truck drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed several changes that would impact the hour of service (HOS) rules for commercial truck drivers.
Designed to make the nation's roads safer, the FMCSA's proposal would create rules that would:
- Cut daily work hours from 11 to 10
- Force drivers to rest for two nights over every 34-hour time period
- Complete their entire workday within 13 hours
- Extend the workday to 16 hours for loading and unloading only twice a week
The proposal has drawn the ire of the groups that represent long-haul truckers. A coalition that includes 36 organizations - including the American Trucking Associations, the Transportation Intermediaries Association, the National Industrial Transportation League and the Truck Renting and Leasing Association - is seeking a hearing on the matter. The coalition maintains that the proposed changes are unnecessary because road safety and truck accident statistics remain virtually unchanged.
The coalition says the proposed changes are born from a political squabble that ensued following a 2003 lawsuit by safety advocates against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT has tried to settle the lawsuit by rewriting the road rules but has yet to pacify the safety advocates.
The trucking coalition argues that if the rules become law, the changes would hurt commerce nationwide. For instance, shortening driving time from 11 hours to 10 hours would force companies to put drivers on shorter routes and keep them out of rural areas. That would have a ripple effect on current distribution agreements in those areas.
Another concern with the proposal is how such rules would be enforced. Inspectors would have more paperwork to complete. Some of the rules, such as enforcing two nights of rest over 34 hours, would be nearly impossible to monitor, especially given the difference in the hours required for some drivers to get a full rest.
