New HOS article

[greg334]

Thanks EO for the article -
"Frustration - An Expediter's concerns with the new Hours of Service rules"

I am wondering about something;

I won’t go into where or why I was going through this type of training but about 17 years ago, I was trained in fatigue and sleep deprivation management. This was an intense and hard class to take with about 60% drop out rate. It was a hands on class with 36 and 48 hour up time, the reason why the 60% drop out rate.

Well anyway the few things I learn were about repetitive task management during sleep deprivation and how our government, the British and also Germans all did studies on this for the military personal. This was the basis for the training being done by practical methods instead of class room training. Millions were spent on how to increase the efficiency of the solder in the field and reduce casualties through combat and accidents behind the lines.

Their findings were clear and well documented that the longer people work at repetitive task, including flying and driving a truck, the more of the chance that their response time will increase substantially when they are faced with a life threatening situation.

I know that everyone knows that fact, but it is the fact that several governments, since the 40’s have done studies that say the exact opposite of the reasons behind the change of HOS.

Your thoughts?

 

[davekc]

Certainly a excellent article that reflects the thoughts of many drivers.

These new rules were implemented to accomadate the special interest groups.

This is another example of government policy makers jumping into something they know little about.

It will be interesting to see what the long term fallout will be.

It currently appears not to be anything positive, except maybe for state and local governments in the form of revenue.

I hope they relook at these rules and make the appropriate adjustments.

Davekc

 

[X1_SRH]

I think that there should be a special interest group consisting of people interested in being able to make their living without constant badgering by other special interest groups (most of which are neither special nor interesting anyway).
That's all I've got to say about that...

 

[ChuckWVP]

I understand how very much this new rule affects team operations. But, it also affects a lot of solos in a negative way. In my case, I live in NC but am dispatched to Atlanta once or twice a week. Sometimes dispatch can't notify me quickly enough to allow me to drive to Atlanta and then take 10 hours off to reset the clock. In the past I was able to use the split berth provision to take 4 or 5 hours rest (which I needed and used) before getting my truck loaded the next morning and then heading out to do a few stops before going back into the sleeper. That 4 or 5 hours was just right for me. It allowed me to get recharged for the second part of the day and I never felt tired. Then came the revision of HOS rules from the government.

With the new rule, if I'm able to get to Atlanta and then take 10 hours off, then no problem. On the other hand, if I know that I can't get there in time to take the required sleeper berth time, then I have to delay leaving so that once I start driving (and thus start the 14 hour clock), I get to the warehouse just in time to load up and then hit the road again. I'm finding that I don't like that situation at all. It forces me to try to sleep during the early evening before leaving home and I've never been able to do that. Then, once I'm on the road, usually starting around midnight, I'm driving during the time that I would normally have been in the sleeper getting my rest. I find that I am tired and sleepy doing it this way and I avoid it when at all possible. In addition to that, I'm then driving throughout the day in virtually the same condition (remember I have until 2pm before I have to reset my clock). My driving time of 11 hours pretty well ends around 1 or 2pm as I usually have to spend at least a couple of hours in the warehouse getting the freight together. I begin my work in the warehouse around 4:30am and finish anywhere from 5:30 to 7:30am. After that, I'm back on the road again.

For those of you wondering, the job I do is sort of a dedicated expedited run where short notice is given and delivery of the specialized product has to be made within 48 hours. The Atlanta warehouse serves the southeastern United States. Since I'm from NC, most of my loads come back in this direction.

The new rule is so detrimental to the rest/sleep cycle that I can't believe much research went into it, as government sources claim. The really stupid part is where the rule makes the additional 2 hours of rest/sleep part of the 14 hour clock. Who has time to take 2 hours out of their day for rest when it counts against an already busy 14 hour workday?

I think that unless some changes are made soon, an industry which is already facing a severe shortage of drivers will find itself in dire straits. I used to drive tour buses and those drivers still use the old HOS rules, where the clock can be stopped by simply going off duty. If that job paid as well as the one I'm doing now, I would go back to it, and I may do that anyway as I am not going to put myself and others in jeopardy much longer just because the government mandates it.

Chuck

 

[davekc]

Chuck

Excellent post with a perspective of how it is effecting solo drivers.

Davekc

 

[LDB]

Last night on Landline Now on XM they discussed this. The safety director for Prime fielded calls on similar situations. According to him the 2 hour break counts in the 14 until you take an 8 hour break. At that point the 14 starts at the conclusion of the 2. The example was coming off a 10 hour break a driver drives 5 hours and then takes a 2 hour break in the sleeper while being loaded. He then drives 5 more hours and takes an 8 hour sleeper berth break. When he comes out of the sleeper he can drive 6 hours before requiring another break because the 14 hour clock moves forward during the breaks. If he had come out of the sleeper sooner than 8 hours he couldn't do anything because he had used up 10 driving and 12 total hours before entering the sleeper, counting the 2 hour break that is part of the 14. By taking the full 8 hour break to combine with the earlier 2 that allows the 14 to move forward and begin at the conclusion of the 2 hour break. I hope that's understandable and that it helps some.

Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.