This 30 minute break isn't so bad.

[Turtle]

Fought? Oh petition ...email campaign? That has really slowed FMSCA down in the past.

No, lobbying the DOT, FMCSA and Congress directly, testimony in Congressional committee hearings, legal proceedings and court filings. It hasn't always worked, hasn't always been successful, but that doesn't mean the fight didn't happen and that everyone just sat back and took it without resistance. If you look back at all the proposed rule changes over the last 20 years or so you will see that nearly every one of them has been either delayed, altered or not even implemented. If it weren't for the fight against them, mandated EOBRs would have been in place in every truck 5 years ago. If it wasn't for the fight against it, the hand-held cell phone rule would have also included a prohibition of using a phone via Bluetooth, the use of GPS devices that could be operated while a truck was in-motion, and the use of hand-held CB microphones. There are half a dozen recommendations by the Medical Board that have been set aside and not implemented because of the fight against them. Half a dozen others are still being fought.

One result of a long fight is the proposed rule change, set to go into effect Jan 8, 2014, would revise the medical qualification standards to allow drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus to operate commercial motor vehicles without seeking an exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

 

[ATeam]

You didn't fight City Hall... That is why you are probably in this situation.... Many years ago you all let this slide and here ya are at this point..... Where the gov has very little or no respect for your opinion.... They will keep bending you over because of your lack of inaction in the past! Truckers have turned into a bunch of government whipping boys.....

OVM, you are fond of stating and restating this view and it is not entirely incorrect, but I hope you leave me and Diane out of it when you make such utterances. I once dedicated ten years of full time effort to political activism, and with no small effect. We fought city hall and won, and changed the course of government at the state level for a time.

Doing such a thing requires one to be engaged every waking moment, day after day, year after year. It is no small effort and that is why truckers are not more involved. Like most people, they simply do not have the time and resources for such a thing.

No, Diane and I were not rallying support, meeting people and attending events in Washington for the last several years while the HOS fight goes on. Involvement at that level will rot your soul if you stay at it too long, at least that's how we found it to be. Ten years was just about long enough for us.

But knowing from first-hand experience what it takes to influence the outcome in the political arena, we do the next best thing; that is, support OOIDA with our voices, votes and funds.

Politics does not provide a clear path. What is won today may be lost tomorrow and vise versa. To make a difference, you join with others who are leaning into it, and in the case of a federal rules fight like this, you support the OOIDA lobbyists and activists to get our voices heard.

While it is true that city hall won this time, it is not true that is the story ends. OOIDA keeps leaning into it, and in support of them, we do too.

 

[ATeam]

Just one week into the new rules show that, on the average, drivers are working for less time than just the 30 minutes per day the rules might indicate, and are also earning disproportionally less money. The mandated 30 minute break is reducing the number of stops many drivers can make by 1 or 2 per day, and the 1-5 AM rest period during the 35 hour restart is costing many drivers and extra 12-18 hours per week in unavailable work time because their normal restart time doesn't fall so as to allow for two consecutive 1-5 AM periods, so they have to wait until another one rolls around. It's not affecting LTL companies all that much, and it may or may not be affecting expediting that much, but it most definitely is affecting OTR truckers in a big way. Swift, CR England, Con-Way and several other companies have reported reduced productivity and efficiency, and I know for a fact that Paschal Truck Lines lost an average of 6.4 hours per driver last week.

Interesting info. This is the kind of rules-impact info I have been hoping to learn as the new rules take hold. Where did this info come from, Turtle?

 

[spongebox1]

A few of you truly need a course in optimism!

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[Turtle]

Interesting info. This is the kind of rules-impact info I have been hoping to learn as the new rules take hold. Where did this info come from, Turtle?

It came from the Director of Operations at Paschall Truck lines (she's a friend of mine). They're headquartered in my home town, and they have drop terminals everywhere, and major satellite terminals in Indy, Memphis, Nashville, Houston, Brownsville, El Paso, McAllen, and Laredo.

The new rules haven't affected their drop terminals much, since those are operates like LTL terminals, and the runs coming out of Texas, like from Laredo or Brownsvile going to somewhere in the Midwest, hasn't been affected much at all. But the normal satellite terminal operations have been affected a great deal, as the runs between Brownsville, Phar (McAllen), Laredo and El Paso have been greatly impacted, because those tend to be multi-stop runs. They're having to do fewer runs or use more trucks for the same runs they used to make, because that half hour is costing them 1-2 stops per truck. They run stuff back and forth between Brownsville and El Paso a lot (a little over an 800 mile run each way), and the two consecutive 1-5 AM break time requirement is causing them to lose an extra half a day, as that run works out juuuust right so that the 34 hour restart hits right in the middle of the 1-5 AM time period. They're going to have to run more trucks, or turn all those solos into teams, or both, in order to keep all that business.

 

[paullud]

A few of you truly need a course in optimism!

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It has nothing to do with optimism or pessimism, it is about not being a doormat.

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[Scuba]

What part of our life will the government want to change next ,,,you know for your own good. Maybe they can issue food coupons limiting how much of a meal you can get at a restaurant based on your bmi this would help to bring down driver weight and it will be for your own good.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I can't wait to see what the 2014 rule of the year will be...

 

[paullud]

I can't wait to see what the 2014 rule of the year will be...

Hopefully heavily enforced, very strict regulations on CVs.

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[Murraycroexp]

Hopefully heavily enforced, very strict regulations on CVs.

That's just mean!!! LOL!!

 

[tenntrucker]

Hopefully heavily enforced, very strict regulations on CVs.

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It's overdue!

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[Murraycroexp]

There US a lot of unsafe crap going on out there, I'm sure.

 

[ATeam]

What part of our life will the government want to change next ,,,you know for your own good.

Trends now in vogue in the reguatory community include: (1) obesity, (2) employee classification (independent contractor status), and (3) anything having to do with trucking, espeically the areas in which technology can be applied to control the behavior of truckers.

 

[paullud]

Being that there are a few threads on this topic already I didn't want to start a new one. This section here stands out because they are claiming having a waiver to not follow the rules to stop fatigue is the same or BETTER than following their rules.

"In the FMCSA’s statement, the agency stated it has*”determined that it is appropriate to grant a limited 90-day waiver for this period to ensure the well-being of the Nation’s livestock during interstate transportation. The Agency has determined that the waiver, based on the terms and conditions imposed, would likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such waiver. This waiver preempts inconsistent State and local requirements.”

http://cdllife.com/2013/top-trucking-news/fmcsa-to-grant-temporary-hos-waiver-to-livestock-haulers/

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[Rocketman]

One thing you have to remember is that every time a driver or carrier complains that they are losing 12-18 hours per week of productivity... that is viewed as a slam dunk victory for those who put the new rules in place. The very reason for these new rules was to reduce the hours drivers were driving during the week. The loud uproar is just a sign of a successful rules package...in their eyes.

I finally got the call today for the oilfield job I was after...I start next Monday. In the oil fields, they are allowed a 24 hr reset. The 1-5 am periods don't apply. The 30 minute breaks do apply, but I don't see any problem there. What is going to hurt the oil field drivers is the one reset in 168 hours rule. As far as I can tell, it is not exempted in the oil field exemptions. Most of the oil field drivers who actually drive 100% of their work hours were working 5 or 6 days, taking a 24 hr reset and doing it again...netting 80 plus hours/week. With the one reset in 168 hours rule, 70 hours is about the best your gonna get anyway I can see it. So...again...the uproar will be a sure sign of victory for the rule makers. As a side note...the company I'm hiring on with (Sunoco Logistics) announced a pay increase of approximately 20% last week. That was a union negotiated contract and I don't know if the increase was just a supply/demand issue, just good negotiating, or fueled by the pending loss of hours available. I only know that there was an increase.

I do believe though that in time, drivers...just like everyone else...need a living wage to continue doing what they do. If the reduced hours lowers that earning potential to an undesirable level, they will leave for better opportunities. Once they are gone...enough of them...they will have to be replaced either with new recruits or with higher pay to prevent even more turnover and possibly bring some of the drivers back. I do believe that supply and demand will rule the day if given a chance. IF that happens...you will see drivers earning the same money...or close to it...for the now standard 70 hr week as they were getting for 80+ hr weeks.

Although I like to have options to work as many hours as possible and make as much money as possible...this is the only industry I have ever seen that DEMANDS the ability to work more hours....with the end result being that there is a good chance you will be working more for less. Just my opinion.

 

[paullud]

This was the result of distracted or fatigued driving earlier today.



The driver of the SUV blew through a light crossed both lanes of traffic and hit a stopped TT from my company head on. As an industry we will do nothing to make sure it gets attention. If the roles were reversed the FMCSA, anti-truck groups, and the media would be all over it.

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[ohiomike08]

At first, I wasn't happy with the break, but its growing on me.

 

[BigCat]

This was the result of distracted or fatigued driving earlier today.

View attachment 7158

The driver of the SUV blew through a light crossed both lanes of traffic and hit a stopped TT from my company head on. As an industry we will do nothing to make sure it gets attention. If the roles were reversed the FMCSA, anti-truck groups, and the media would be all over it.

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Well then as a few in the industry we could try to get attention to these incidents for a positive light on us.

 

[paullud]

Well then as a few in the industry we could try to get attention to these incidents for a positive light on us.

I would like to see OOIDA make more of a PR push and as individuals we could start doing simple things like starting Facebook groups that humanize drivers.

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[BigCat]

I would like to see OOIDA make more of a PR push and as individuals we could start doing simple things like starting Facebook groups that humanize drivers.

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Exactly. That's what we need to do to bring light to the fact that most drivers are more aware of what is going on in the 4 sides of us than a 4 wheeler is aware of just what's in front.