Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/305892
18 | Overdrive | May 2014 Logbook Untitled-27 1 12/18/13 9:29 AM Text INFO to 205-289-3555 or visit www.ovdinfo.com Analysis finds flaws in hours research The research used to confirm the benefits of last summer's changes in truck drivers' hours of service rule has significant prob- lems, according to an analysis published last month. The government agency that sponsored the study, however, said the revised rule works as intended. The American Transportation Re- search Institute, the research arm of the American Trucking Associations, said it has identified technical issues related to research design flaws, validity of measurement techniques and interpretations, and data conflicts within and across the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's field study, released in January. FMCSA collected fatigue mea- surements from 106 truck drivers during two duty cycles that included two restart breaks. FMCSA con- tends the results support the efficacy of the restart rule that went into effect July 1, 2013. The trucking industry and some members of Congress immediately criticized the report. Congress also recently asked the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the studies done by FMCSA to create and back the rule. In both the House and Senate, bills are in committee that would overturn the hours rule temporarily and allow drivers to operate under the previ- ous rule pending GAO's evaluation. The agency continues to defend the study and the rule. "ATRI's report is an attempt to cloud the fact that the updated hours of service rule is working to ensure that truck drivers who work extreme schedules of up to 70 hours a week are getting the recuperation time they need be- fore getting back behind the wheel," said an FMCSA statement. FMCSA said the third-party analysis found that drivers who began their workweek following a 34-hour restart break with just one nighttime period of rest, as compared to two: • Exhibited more lapses of atten- tion, especially at night; • Reported greater sleepiness, especially toward the end of their duty periods; and • Showed increased lane devia- tion in the morning and afternoon and at night. — Kevin Jones Logbook_0514.indd 18 4/30/14 3:03 PM