Hard to believe that after 3-4 years and god knows how many millions of dollars went into the DOT study that drivers can now drive 11 hours instead of 10,and now must take a 10 hour break instead of 8. My 4 year old Grandaughter who is going on 40 could have probably come up with that.. I think I need to work for the DOT.
New DOT HOS Regs
- Thread starter RichM
- Start date
It starts Jan 1, 2004, and goes like this:
11 hours driving, 15 on duty, and 10 required off after that. 70 hour rule stays the same, but hours reset to 0 after 36 consecutive hours off. Yes Rich, I totally agree this will do NOTHING to improve highway safety! STUPIDx(
11 hours driving, 15 on duty, and 10 required off after that. 70 hour rule stays the same, but hours reset to 0 after 36 consecutive hours off. Yes Rich, I totally agree this will do NOTHING to improve highway safety! STUPIDx(
I thought the object of the "big study" was to come up with a plan to avoid driver fatigue. Being able to drive another hour, kinda defeats the purpose, as companies will extend the range accordingly, for single drivers. Therefore, unless my math is wrong, if driver fatigue is a factor driving 10 hours a day,does driving 11 hours a day wake a driver up??!! Does DOT stand for Department Of Twits? They must have held a brainstorming session on this one, and it turned out to be only thundershowers.
Here are the new HOS rules for those who might not know:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/Home_Files/hos/cards5.htm
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/Home_Files/hos/cards5.htm
The problem with HOS rules is that no rule will be good for the way everone works. But in my humble opinion I think 14 hours to be used any way you want, 8 consecutive off, with 2 off during the 14 would be reasonable. We could work a little more with mandated rest time.
OOIDA says the new hours of svc are just like "rearanging the chairs on the Titanic" I agree.The real problem today with safety today is with the 4 wheelers.They are at fault 80 percent of the time in accidents with trucks.These are the govts own figures. The new rules are bound to please some,and p/o others.For expediters...single drivers should like the extra hour of drive time.Of course that means fewer runs for teams.As the TRUCKIN BOZO says the new rules were forced by a law suit filed by CRASH and TADD.I am sure they are the most upset at the final HOS.
dieseldiva
Veteran Expediter
All that and do I even want to ask how many of my fellow drivers what percentage of the "near miss" accidents by 4 wheelers you see on the road involves a cell phone, or am I the only one thinking that this is turning into a BIG safety issue?
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MILITARY MOM AND PROUD OF IT
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MILITARY MOM AND PROUD OF IT
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Oh those cell phones...You are oh so right!!!We had a jerk in a pickup truck rearend us while going down the freeway(he was trying to pass us and dial cell phone at the same time)He didnt even end the call after we pulled over to fill out the accident report.Truckers are also to blame for misuse of phones.I see them all the time Jugleing their phone and the CB.
gingerbreadman
Expert Expediter
when will drivers be made to take the 36hrs off?. is it at the end of every week no matter how many hrs you have or only after the 70 hrs.
how does the off duty status work. example i was pulled over in az the d.o.t man questioned our off duty time. i had to show him a card that the company issued that relives the driver of duty while the truck is leagally parked.the question is how will the off duty time be logged.we have been told the only way you can show off duty is if you are home.
how does the off duty status work. example i was pulled over in az the d.o.t man questioned our off duty time. i had to show him a card that the company issued that relives the driver of duty while the truck is leagally parked.the question is how will the off duty time be logged.we have been told the only way you can show off duty is if you are home.
Am I missing something here!! It appears that all of the problems experienced by truck drivers are either the fault of 4 wheelers, the companies they driver for, or DOT.
I expect that a percentage of 4 wheel operators will do stupid things and I just drive accordingly. However, I have watched some truck drivers do absolutely wreckless things, that endangered many. I recently saw two drivers changing seats in a moving truck. I have also seen truckers shifting gears while making a turn at a light, while talking on the cell phone. Trucks have also crossed a couple of lanes, nearly hitting me so that they could get off at their exit, while at the same time exceeding the posted speeds. And we don't even want to start a discussion about truck drivers exceeding posted speeds and climbing right up on the tail of the car or truck in front of them.
The complaints about companies has been aired on numerous occasions on this site and need not be done again. As long as there are drivers out there that will "massage" the books to run in excess of legal hours, the companies will continue to get away with their tactics for running drivers into the ground.
As far as the new regs for the DOT, I do not recall reading anything, anywhere about changes that were acceptable to drivers/trucking companies/and general public. Every proposed change had some special interest group crying that they were either going to go broke or the rules would put them in danger. The feds had to make a change, to show something to the voters/tax payers for all the money spent. I don't think it will matter what is put forward, there were going to be a lot of unhappy people. The only workable alternative appeared to be the placement of black boxes in all trucks to ensure that all drivers ran legal. The drivers felt that was an invasion of their privacy!! Many drivers feel that running legal would result in a severe pay cut and they would be out of business. That attitude keeps the trucking companies happy, scares the devil out of the general public and creates a negative attitude towards professional drivers.
My point is - what is an acceptable alternative to the proposed rules, that would be acceptable to all parties? Until the Fair Labor Standards Act are applied to the trucking industry (i.e. miniumum wage, time & half for 40+ hours, pay for on-duty not driving time, etc) there will not be any changes in how this industry (trucking in general) operates.
I have written my legislators and told them my opinion on what I think should be changed! Did you write yours????
Drive Safe.
I expect that a percentage of 4 wheel operators will do stupid things and I just drive accordingly. However, I have watched some truck drivers do absolutely wreckless things, that endangered many. I recently saw two drivers changing seats in a moving truck. I have also seen truckers shifting gears while making a turn at a light, while talking on the cell phone. Trucks have also crossed a couple of lanes, nearly hitting me so that they could get off at their exit, while at the same time exceeding the posted speeds. And we don't even want to start a discussion about truck drivers exceeding posted speeds and climbing right up on the tail of the car or truck in front of them.
The complaints about companies has been aired on numerous occasions on this site and need not be done again. As long as there are drivers out there that will "massage" the books to run in excess of legal hours, the companies will continue to get away with their tactics for running drivers into the ground.
As far as the new regs for the DOT, I do not recall reading anything, anywhere about changes that were acceptable to drivers/trucking companies/and general public. Every proposed change had some special interest group crying that they were either going to go broke or the rules would put them in danger. The feds had to make a change, to show something to the voters/tax payers for all the money spent. I don't think it will matter what is put forward, there were going to be a lot of unhappy people. The only workable alternative appeared to be the placement of black boxes in all trucks to ensure that all drivers ran legal. The drivers felt that was an invasion of their privacy!! Many drivers feel that running legal would result in a severe pay cut and they would be out of business. That attitude keeps the trucking companies happy, scares the devil out of the general public and creates a negative attitude towards professional drivers.
My point is - what is an acceptable alternative to the proposed rules, that would be acceptable to all parties? Until the Fair Labor Standards Act are applied to the trucking industry (i.e. miniumum wage, time & half for 40+ hours, pay for on-duty not driving time, etc) there will not be any changes in how this industry (trucking in general) operates.
I have written my legislators and told them my opinion on what I think should be changed! Did you write yours????
Drive Safe.