Hours-of-Service Proposed Rulemaking

[terryandrene]

Changes to the CMV Hours of Service have been discussed for quite a while. Here is a preview of the proposed changes that will be published in the Federal Register on 29 December: Hours-of-Service (HOS) Proposed Rulemaking (December 2010) - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The public will then have 60 days to comment on he proposed changes.

During the last change in the HOS regulations, less than 2000 CDL holders commented on the proposed changes, but many other special interests did so and that is perhaps the reason the current regulations are in place.

Incorrect rumors have already started and you will hear all manner of interpretations of the published rulemaking on the radio, on the CB, on the internet and at truck stop coffee counters.

Please take the time to read and study the new proposal, consider the positive and/or negative impact the new proposed rules will have on your working conditions and submit your comments and any evidentiary material to the FMCSA.

Information on how to comment after 29 December is contained in Hours-of-Service (HOS) Proposed Rulemaking (December 2010) - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

 

[JimF51]

The once a week restart limitation will definitely hurt me, as a solo driver. I had 2 just this past week alone. Does this mean if I get a restart over a weekend, then sit for, say 36 hrs. mid-week, those hours will count as duty time?

 

[Bruno]

Thanks Terry. I see they didn't do anything to let teams go back to driving 5/5 as many had thought.

 

[TeamCaffee]

One of the changes I really like is the ability for a team driver to sit in the front seat for two hours a day with out being on duty.

Still digesting the 34 hour restart to see how we can make that work for us.

 

[greg334]

Thanks Terry.

Read through most of this, I think it should be fought and more than 2000 truckers should comment on it.

Again this justifies my criticism of this industry by the lack of participation by those who are directly affected by it, the trucker. Like other things, every trucker should be united front and take the time out to read and respond to a call for comments.

The 7 hour rule is really going to be fun and affect a lot of us who take breaks different ways while time permits.

Some of it is comical, like their sleep apnea stuff I have been reading about, the advisory board spelled out suggested guidelines which seem to be draconian and steps on medical privacy rights but more importantly there is not one study that correlates sleep apnea with fatigue related accidents and the studies that the FMCSA have used for their present guidelines do not break down the data but use aggregates between passenger vehicles and CMVs which don't tell the true picture beside the fact that there is only two studies that actually study the question with the conclusion that there is no conclusion between sleep apnea, driver fatigue and accidents - and the US DOT paid for those studies.

The 2008 FMCSA final rule on HOS noted that “FMCSA has consistently been cautious about inferring causal relationships between the HOS requirements and trends in overall motor carrier safety. The Agency believes that the data show no decline in highway safety since the implementation of the 2003 rule and its re-adoption in the 2005 rule and the 2007 [interim final rule]” (73 FR 69567, 69572, November 19, 2008).

While that statement remains correct, the total number of crashes, though declining, is still unacceptably high. Moreover, the source of the decline in crashes is unclear.

What is high when numbers are declining?

So this is the justification for these new changes, is pretty much 'we don't know but we will **** with it to see if it fixes is?

Isn't it like putting a tiny band-aid on a damaged artery on a patient who is bleeding out just because the band-aid is easy to reach?

FMCSA believes that the HOS regulations proposed today, coupled with the Agency’s many other safety initiatives and assisted by the actions of an increasingly safety-conscious motor carrier industry, would result in a significant improvement in safety. We note as well that the proposed rule is intended to protect drivers from the serious health problems associated with excessively long work hours, without significantly compromising their ability to do their jobs and earn a living.

Improvement of safety starts with training. Once they tighten up training and move vans into the CMV category, we will see drastic improvements on safety numbers.

An unrealistic point of view coming from advisors who have ties with specific groups.

Drivers at the listening sessions frequently stated that they know when they are tired and, therefore, are the best judges of when they need rest and how much. Research, however, indicates that people are not good at assessing their own level of fatigue.

Really?

The FMCSA ignores the tons of data that has been compiled by the US Department of Defense on Fatigue.

 

[dieseldiva]

Thanks Terry. I see they didn't do anything to let teams go back to driving 5/5 as many had thought.

IMHO....that was the safest and I could never understand why they didn't see it that way......

 

[layoutshooter]

IMHO....that was the safest and I could never understand why they didn't see it that way......

They are NOT drivers. Regs are made by people who have, for the most part, READ about drivers, seen them on the road and feel a GREAT need to exercise power over them. After all, they ARE smarter, they read it it a book.

OF COURSE letting teams split driving hours is safer. I would go as allowing each driver 12 hours a day, with NO more than 8 straight.

 

[dieseldiva]

They are NOT drivers. Regs are made by people who have, for the most part, READ about drivers, seen them on the road and feel a GREAT need to exercise power over them. After all, they ARE smarter, they read it it a book.

OF COURSE letting teams split driving hours is safer. I would go as allowing each driver 12 hours a day, with NO more than 8 straight.

Yes, I know all of that, I was just hoping that common sense would prevail.......what was I thinking??

 

[layoutshooter]

Yes, I know all of that, I was just hoping that common sense would prevail.......what was I thinking??

LOL!!! I know, I know, it happens to all of us. Shoot, I once believed a politician, of course was was not talking at the time!!

 

[greg334]

Well by limiting the vans to say 700 mile runs, it is a level playing field for us little trucks.

Hey I saw one of those Load-1 vans today #*** and I waved and he looked at my as if I was nuts.

 

[usafk9]

Well by limiting the vans to say 700 mile runs, it is a level playing field for us little trucks.

Hey I saw one of those Load-1 vans today #*** and I waved and he looked at my as if I was nuts.

Maybe the Load-1 folks are smarter than I thought.

 

[nightcreacher]

Back in the day,most truck drivers had radar detectors.The feds decided that truck drivers were useing them as an unfair advantage agents radar,so they could speed down the highway.A year before this all happened,there were bill boards everywhere telling all truck drivers to contact there congress persons and senators and protest this happing.AFter all the phone calls,the taking of the radar detectors was held off,till the people in government ,realized most of the phone calls came from non voters,so the following year out came the radar detectors.
This can an will happen will happen with the new hos, and proposed banning of cell phones.
If drivers and companies don't stand up for our rights,no one will,and doesn't seem to me OOIDA is doing much for us either
I've been running team for over 28 years.The past couple years since the new HOS went into effect,have been the hardest on me and my partner.We just don't get enough rest.As you all know,your not going to get 10 hrs sleep in a moving truck.
As far as a reset,my partner has never driven a truck when we didnt have a reset.I had to show him how you can run 30 days with out a reset and not run out of your 70 hrs.

 

[Crazynuff]

One of the changes I really like is the ability for a team driver to sit in the front seat for two hours a day with out being on duty.

Still digesting the 34 hour restart to see how we can make that work for us.

Being able to log off duty in a parked CMV will be a big plus for hotshotters running medium duty or 1 ton trucks without sleepers .

 

[nightcreacher]

Still digesting the 34 hour restart to see how we can make that work for us.[/QUOTE]



We have run close to out of 70 hrs a couple times,but have never had more than 1 reset in any week,in fact,we usually use 1 reset a month

 

[davekc]

The reset on hours looks to be a little tricky. For expediting, it would seem it would depend on where in the week you will need it. The other issue would be if they go to 10 hours on driving. Not sure how some government and surveillance loads are going to work with that.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Changing the drive time to ten hours can still work on DoD loads with a little planning on our parts. If we sit less than an hour we will be good to go.

It appears to me that the time can be split up which is good.

The battle I believe we want to fight is the restart. As soon as or anyone else has address and where to send letters to we need to get moving on this issue. Last time HOS was changed they received very little feed back during the comment period.

 

[nightcreacher]

I haven't driven 11 hos or has my co since the new HOS.We only log 10 hrs each.not meaning we actually split at the 10 hr point,I shouldn't write this lol

 

[davekc]

The 10 hour could work, but it will take some adjusting on loads. It will as well have some effect on solos. Especially places where they are electronically monitored. Most expedite carriers in that category base runs on the 47 or 48 ect. Have to think that might have some effect over say the course of a month.

 

[greg334]

It is the 7 hour break that should be a concern. With the mandated 30 minutes of off duty time, a lot of people will try to make up that lost time. Already we have people under an imposed time limit which seem to be a cause of accidents.

The 34 hour reset is a secondary issue for many of us who don't run 24/7. In my case, it may be a show stopper if there is a break during the week and then another one at the end without being allowed to apply the second one for a fresh start. I don't see the issue with teams because their carrier will have to be the one to adjust the workload, not the team.

 

[gotta go]

It is the 7 hour break that should be a concern. With the mandated 30 minutes of off duty time, a lot of people will try to make up that lost time.

I agree that the 30 minute break is the head shaker for me. What could be 3 necessary bathroom breaks need to be taken at one time or we'll be penalized?
During the listening sessions they said that they heard the drivers asking for flexibility, well it seems we can see how well they listened.