Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85450
VOICES Drivers to court: Leave hours alone! Implementation of the com- plicated new hours of service rule is set for May. News that the American Trucking Associations and advocacy groups had taken fire at the new rule in legal proceedings got online debate about hours going again. ATA wants new restart restrictions eliminated. Safety groups again petitioned for a reduction of available daily driving hours from 11 to 10. Thomas Duncan, commenting at OverdriveOnline.com, argued that it hurts safety when regu- lators continue to "narrow a working traveling man's ability to decide for himself when he needs to work – how long or how many days – or when he needs to rest." Money "wasted on study and reports" about compliance "means absolutely nothing," he added. The 4-million-mile safe driver disputed the con- nection between strict compli- ance and safety. Ultimately, he says: "Being 'compliant' today means being dangerous! The more controls you push on us, the more experienced safe drivers you run out of the business!" As a case in point, a 3-mil- lion-mile safe operator, Henry Frapp, also commenting on the website noted he'd "just sold my four tractors and I'm out of trucking." He's been in business since 1974, yet "the government regulators still treat me like I'm a criminal or a moron. My experience counts for nothing, and I'm fed up with the tinhorn despots trying to micromanage my business." Search "hours of service" on OverdriveOnline.com to weigh in on ongoing coverage. Like it or not: Guess who's on Facebook The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration now has a Facebook page and is looking not so much for "likes" but for a few good safety recommendations. As one driver noted at 4 | Overdrive | October 2012 its August launch: It could be a great way to get your thoughts in the eye of the gen- eral public, "rather than just preach- ing" to the industry choir. We've seen at least one regular OverdriveOnline.com commenter posting there already. Get over there and tell them what you think! Scan the QR to visit the FMCSA Facebook page on your smart- phone, or visit Facebook. com/FMCSA. SERVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT HOURS OF "I run a sleeper team, and we used to be able to split our time. I don't like the mandatory 10- hour break." DAVID LINZ Goshen, Ohio Con-way Truckload "I like the hours, as long as they don't do away with the 34-hour restart. It gives drivers a chance to get home." ROY HENSON Winsboro, Texas FFE Transportation "Honestly, I wouldn't change the hours. I run a daycab doing clinic deliveries, so my hours are not affected a lot. I get more off-time." GLENN ADAMS Tuscaloosa, Ala. Fresenius Medical Care "I would change the 14-hour rule. I run a sleeper team, and we can't split our time – some people don't need as much rest as others." ERNEST GONZALEZ Riverside, Calif. Greatwide Logistics Services