New HOS start today - figure out how to make it work

[layoutshooter]

Almost done. I am now sleepy, 30 fewer miles traveled, it's now almost dark and Mrs. Layout woke up. GREAT PLAN ANNIE! I wish I had that witches phone # I would call her at 3AM and wake her sorry butt up! At least my nose is clean.

 

[mjmsprt40]

I don't know about you guys, but rules or no rules I found that I have to take a break now and then. Maybe not 1/2 hour after driving 8, but I have to stop for breaks. Or else. It's amazing how much good I can get from a bit of walking, going into the J to get some coffee and so on.

Y'know, I'm really not impressed by some guy who thinks he's a superduperguy who never needs to stop for any reason. The rules AS WRITTEN are for the birds, but the idea that some folk need rules to tell them stuff that should be common sense is a surprisingly common thing.

 

[cheri1122]

Looking at the screen of an EOBR, with the categories to track: hours driven, hours left in 11, hours left in 14, hours until mandatory 8 [for break], hours left in 70, makes me wonder if the additional complexity just added isn't going to cause significantly more math 'errors' from drivers, and make the argument for mandatory EOBRs that much stronger.
I wish they had to address known problems like parking & detention before they could 'solve' new ones.

 

[xiggi]

Almost done. I am now sleepy, 30 fewer miles traveled, it's now almost dark and Mrs. Layout woke up. GREAT PLAN ANNIE! I wish I had that witches phone # I would call her at 3AM and wake her sorry butt up! At least my nose is clean.

Stressing over things you can't change can make you tired.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC-123.

 

[beachbum]

They will be coming after you 4 wheelers next. I even brought up the fact that you guys don't have to log, can drive as MANY hours as you like, and even run overweight, in my email to my congressman!

Why do you care about the vanners, you should worry about yourself.

BTW, we have to log then we would
Just buy a straight truck and take your freight and also flood the D truck part of the industry and lower the rated you get now.

 

[ATeam]

I like the new HOS! Due to the HOS rules, I got a nice load. Shipper- " we need one skid there ASAP, we have 160 more going to the same place, but the driver can not get it there due to the new HOS rules, plant will shut down before he can get there."

There was a fork lift waiting right inside the gate. (9 hours eary, they were watching my location.)

1 skid with 4 drums.

That's interesting, and perhaps encouraging for the expediting industry. We may see more loads like these for the reasons you shared.

We have been talking about how the new mandated 30 minute break affects or does not affect us. Thought must also be given to the shippers.

I cannot think af a single aspect of the new rules that will benefit shippers. Can you?

The example you posted does show a disadvantage to shippers; namely the extra money they must pay to ship their goods. You can't mandate an industry-wide decrease in transportation productivity and expect shipping costs to stay the same.

 

[ATeam]

The subtitle of this thread is "figure out how to make it work." Some truckers may be doing exactly that, but not in a way the regulators anticipated.

Diane and I got stuck in a four-mile backup today. The busy freeway was closed to one lane as crews cleared a big-rig wreck. It took us 40 minutes to drive four miles. Once past the wreck, we proceeded at hightway speed.

While inching our way along, I turned on the CB and asked how the new 30 minute break was working. A string of profanity instantly followed, transmitted by multiple drivers at the same time. With that respsonse, I did not press for details because a rational conversation would have been difficult on the CB.

As the delay exceeded 30 minutes, a number of drivers indicated they would be logging it as their 30 minute break. Some might have been joking but it did not seem like all of them were.

Diane and I do not have an EOBR in our truck, but I remember hearing something about EOBR's not picking up a truck's movement if the movement is very slow. Drivers using paper logs woudl have no trouble logging a four mile/ 40-minute trip as a 30 minute break. Would the same be possible with an EOBR?

(And for anyone who might wonder, no, I did not log that traffic delay as a 30 minute break.)

 

[Deville]

This is what happens when people are writing laws for industries they know nothing about. This will continue literally everywhere regardless of the business. As long as we keep electing the same people, we likely will get the same result.
Soooo....based on that, it is pretty much make the best out of a less than desirable situation.

As mentioned, there is no escaping it regardless of what business your in. Just saw this weekend were a part time magician has to have a detailed disaster plan for his pet rabbit courtesy of the USDA. One of the dumbest things to come out of Washington last week. Sadly, this foolishness is a daily occurrence.
For your reading enjoyment while on your 30 minute break.
Agriculture Department tells magician to write disaster plan for his rabbit - Washington Times

Can't have an undocumented rabbit, but we'll let 11 million undocumented immigrants live here, get driver's licenses and free social services.

 

[ATeam]

Sitting a a "J" wasting 1/2 of daylight driving because some dufus in Washington who has never driven a truck told me I need a break.

What a monumental waste of time AND fuel as my reefer just burns it up as I sit doing NOTHING of value. NOW what to I do? Pick my nose? At least this spot is safe and legal, that is about all the good I can say for this.

I have wasted 7 minutes, that is 7 miles less I have traveled, and I will LOSE 1/2 OFF of my 14 hour clock which is now NOT a 14 hour but a 13 1/2 hour clock This REALLY SUCKS!!

Driving in the Northeast last night around midnight, Diane made a fuel stop and then, combining the fuel stop with the mandatory stop, took a 30 minute break at the truck stop. She combined the two stops to save fuel. One trip off and back onto the freeway for fuel and a 30 minute break is better than two trips off and on, one for a 30 minute break and one for fuel.

The truck stop was full except for one parking space, but that was OK because one space is all we need. Any big-rig driver who came looking for a parking space in those 30 minutes was out of luck. We were there because the new rules made it so. Under the old rules, Diane would have proceeded immediately after the fuel stop, no less refreshed than the 30 minute break left her, and any big rig looking for a parking place would have found it.

After sitting for an unwanted and totally pointless 30 minutes because the law said we had to, I began to wonder, how many drivers will this rule motivate to leave the industry. For how many will this be the last straw?

Drivers, being drivers, like to drive. When a trucker is under load, most of them like to lay down the miles. They like to keep the truck moving. They are eager to get the freight off their truck so they can earn that money and get on to the next load.

When traffic grinds to a halt, they don't like it. When the snow gates close, they don't like that either. They don't like to sit. They like to move.

Now, while things like traffic, snow gates, dock delays, etc. are not liked, they are at least understandable. They have an identifiable cause. But these new rules are different. The only cause of the 30 minute delay is the law that says you must take one. And if you are loaded or moving toward a load, or going home for that matter, you must stop to take that break.

This will happen every day full-time drivers are at work or under load. They will stop, sit, and have time to reflect on how pointless the stop is that they don't want to make. This rule is one more straw on the camel's back, and for some, I think, it will be the last.

 

[jjoerger]

I'm doing my first mandatory 30 in a rest stop on I95 in Florida. (Near Phil's vacation home) Just ate a big chef salad I bought last night for the occasion. Plenty of parking available last night at all of the I95 rest areas. Only problem so far is I ran out of Ranch dressing.

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[OntarioVanMan]

IMO...I don't think you'll see many problems....I think many TT's will do their 30 during a drop and hook if it falls into line....they cheat a little....hahaha

 

[ATeam]

I'm doing my first mandatory 30 in a rest stop on I95 in Florida. (Near Phil's vacation home) Just ate a big chef salad I bought last night for the occasion. Plenty of parking available last night at all of the I95 rest areas. Only problem so far is I ran out of Ranch dressing.

What would you have been doing if the old rules had been in effect? Would you have made the stop? If not, how would you have spent the time?

 

[ATeam]

Here is the text of the news release from the FMCSA presenting the FMCSA's view of this:

New Hours-of-Service Safety Regulations to Reduce Truck Driver Fatigue Begin Today

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that new federal regulations designed to improve safety for the motoring public by reducing truck driver fatigue took full effect today, July 1, 2013.

"Safety is our highest priority," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "These rules make common sense, data-driven changes to reduce truck driver fatigue and improve safety for every traveler on our highways and roads."

Trucking companies were provided 18 months to adopt the new hours-of-service rules for truck drivers. First announced in December 2011 by FMCSA, the rules limit the average work week for truck drivers to 70 hours to ensure that all truck operators have adequate rest. Only the most extreme schedules will be impacted, and more than 85 percent of the truck driving workforce will see no changes.

Working long daily and weekly hours on a continuing basis is associated with chronic fatigue, a high risk of crashes, and a number of serious chronic health conditions in drivers. It is estimated that these new safety regulations will save 19 lives and prevent approximately 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries each year.

"These fatigue-fighting rules for truck drivers were carefully crafted based on years of scientific research and unprecedented stakeholder outreach," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "The result is a fair and balanced approach that will result in an estimated $280 million in savings from fewer large truck crashes and $470 million in savings from improved driver health. Most importantly, it will save lives."

FMCSA's new hours-of-service final rule:

• Limits the maximum average work week for truck drivers to 70 hours, a decrease from the current maximum of 82 hours;
• Allows truck drivers who reach the maximum 70 hours of driving within a week to resume if they rest for 34 consecutive hours, including at least two nights when their body clock demands sleep the most - from 1-5 a.m., and;
• Requires truck drivers to take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a shift.

The final rule retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit and 14-hour work day.

Companies and drivers that commit egregious violations of the rule could face the maximum penalties for each offense. Trucking companies and passenger carriers that allow drivers to exceed driving limits by more than three hours could be fined $11,000 per offense, and the drivers themselves could face civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense.

Further information, including "Hours-of-Service Logbook Examples," is available on FMCSA's web site at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/HOS.

 

[paullud]

Come on guys, pipe down in here, baby needs a nap.

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[ATeam]

"Safety is our highest priority," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "These rules make common sense, data-driven changes to reduce truck driver fatigue and improve safety for every traveler on our highways and roads."

I know that the FMCSA does not think about one driver at a time but takes a one-size-fits-all approach instead.

The practical effect of the new rules in our truck last night was to force Diane to take a 30 minute break that she otherwise would not have taken. She felt no need for a break and did not want one. It made no difference whatsoever in how she felt or how rested she was for the duration of the trip. After fueling and parking the truck, she spent the 30 minutes reading.

The new rules made no difference in the delivery time. We arrived a couple hours ahead of the time the docks opened for business. The mandated break did make a difference in the time both of us spent asleep in a non-moving truck before the delivery. That time was shortened by 30 minutes because of the mandated break.

 

[cannedmeat27]

When did we get 82 hrs in a week

 

[layoutshooter]

Here is the result of the FIRST FORCED break. We did find a place to park. We did combine BOTH mandatory stops with fuel stops. It took me about two hours driving AFTER the FORCED stop to wake up, it was horrible. In DC traffic during that time.

Thanks to the TWO FORCED stops, and the DC traffic jam, we had the JOY of getting running late notices, a joy we have not have for ages when we are able to manage our time as WE SEE FIT!

It would seem that our carrier has NOT adjusted the speed at which we travel to account for the time that is now lost to MANDATORY, FORCED, UNNEEDED, breaks. I informed them when I responded to the running late notice of that fact. We did not make the original delivery time, by 40 minutes. Our time had been bumped so no service failure.

Gotta love it!

 

[Murraycroexp]

I imagine it will take several months for the new standards in "average speeds" to filter through the system, get loaded into all the various softwares & actually be relayed to all the customers & shippers. Many customers don't care about why trucks average lower speeds than they can do in their Toyota Camry for the same drive.

 

[layoutshooter]

I imagine it will take several months for the new standards in "average speeds" to filter through the system, get loaded into all the various softwares & actually be relayed to all the customers & shippers. Many customers don't care about why trucks average lower speeds than they can do in their Toyota Camry for the same drive.

The fact that this was going to take place has been known for a very long time. No valid excuse to not be ready for it. I suspect that the carriers were HOPING that the courts would stop this, we all know how hoping for change works in real life.

 

[paullud]

When did we get 82 hrs in a week

Up until July 1st.

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