Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/846064
10 commercial carrier journal | july 2017 JOURNAL NEWS C M Y CM MY CY CMY K June_CCJ_Ancra RAR_7x4.5.pdf 1 5/8/17 8:54 AM Untitled-23 1 5/11/17 1:20 PM The plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the 7th Circuit, asking for a rehear- ing en banc — that is, for all 13 judges on the 7th Circuit bench to evaluate whether the case can be reheard. That appeal was denied, leading to OOIDA's request to the Supreme Court to hear the case. The issue is likely a nonstarter with lawmakers, industry observers say. Five years ago, a Republican-led Congress required DOT and FMCSA to develop the ELD mandate, which also has bipartisan support from Democrats. "I believe this is 'game, set, match,' " said Joe Rajkovacz, head of regulatory affairs for the Western States Trucking Associations and a former owner-oper- ator. WSTA "has moved to making sure our members are educated on this issue, and we're encouraging them to not wait until the last minute." – James Jaillet berth options – such as 5-5, 6-4 and 7-3 – would have on drivers and their fatigue levels. The study's outcome could dic - tate whether FMCSA decides to pursue reforms to hours regulations pertaining to split sleeper berth flexibility. FMCSA said last year it had partnered with Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute and Washington State University to conduct the split sleeper berth pilot program. Researchers will study the 200 (or more) drivers in their normal operations. However, drivers will be free to split their sleeper berth time into two segments of "any combination … totaling 10 hours." "Drivers would be able to use split or consolidated sleep schedules as they choose, but they still must meet the daily minimum rest requirements," the agency says. The study seeks to gather data from electronic logging devices, monitoring systems such as video recorders, roadside inspections, wrist actigraphy (studying total sleep time and wakefulness), in-cab psychomotor vigilance tests, subjective sleepiness ratings as noted by drivers and sleep logs. Researchers then will study the data and make conclusions regarding the positive or negative outcomes of drivers using split sleeper berth options. FMCSA has not said how long the data collection phase will last, only saying that individual drivers will be studied for up to 90 days. The agency also did not say how long it would take to produce conclusions based on the data gathered. Public comments about the study were being accepted for 60 days, giving carri - ers and drivers the chance to provide the agency with input about the study and how it should proceed. The comment period is available at the Regulations. gov rulemaking portal at Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0260. – James Jaillet Continued from page 9 Continued from page 9