Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85420
Industry down on new rule The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration once again has left many groups unhappy with an hours of service revision. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association charged that the new provisions will have no impact on highway safety but plenty on the "lives and livelihoods of small- business truckers," said Executive Vice President Todd Spencer. "The changes are unnecessary and unwelcome." Spencer called for more flexibility for drivers to truly improve highway safety. "Compliance with any regulation is already a challenge because everyone else in the supply chain is free to waste the driver's time loading or unloading with no accountability," he said. "The hours of service regulations should instead be more flexible to allow drivers to sleep when tired and to work when rested and not penalize them for doing so. It's the only way to reach significant gains in highway safety and reduce non-compliance." The Truck Safety Coalition calls the 11th hour of driving "one of the most unsafe provisions of the former rule," accusing FMCSA of bowing to industry interests by retaining it. The coalition also calls for eliminating the 34-hour restart altogether. The American Trucking Associations called the rule's new provisions "unsurprising. What is surprising and new to us," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves, "is that for the first time in the agency's history, FMCSA has chosen to eschew a stream of positive safety data and cave in to a vocal anti- truck minority and issue a rule that will have no positive impact on safety." ATA has said it is researching potential legal options, though industry watcher Jay Thompson bets challenges come from other quarters first. Safety advocacy groups, he says, are most likely to issue any challenges. Fleets expect big changes A survey of 120 fleet executives by Randall-Reilly Market Intelligence shows that 82 percent believe the new hours rule will reduce productivity of their fleet. off to satisfy the night-period restart requirements. Working six days on, two off – an eight-day cycle – would not mesh with his weekly dedicated operation, delivering to Target stores, or his schedule of classes he's taking toward a bachelor's degree. "I can do up to $300 worth on a good night, but $200 a night is average," Hubbard says. "If I had to give up one day a week, every week, that would eliminate $800 a month from my check. "The people making the rules have no idea. They've never sat in a truck or lived in a truck," Hubbard says. "They've never seen the realities of How do you expect to respond to lost productivity? Raise freight rates Work with customers to adjust pick-up/delivery schedules Eliminate certain lanes/customers Add drivers and trucks Don't know Accept lost productivity Other 50% 39% 26% 8% 2% 4% How will the change in the restart provision affect your operation? Will lead to more drivers taking restart on weekends Will lead to some nighttime drivers driving during the day instead Will lead to fewer drivers using the restart Don't know Will have no effect Other 41% 39% 32% 15% 8% 6% FEBRUARY 2012 OVERDRIVE 21 75% Max Heine