Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/911782
16 | Overdrive | December 2017 Logbook The U.S. Department of Transporta- tion is moving forward with a plan to institute a pilot program to study the feasibility of altering hours of ser- vice regulations to allow truckers to split their off-duty sleeper berth time into segments rather than having to take 10 straight hours off duty or use the limited 8-2 split. The agency also announced that 240 drivers have been selected to participate in the program. FMCSA plans to file its plan with the White House Office of Management and Budget, which must approve the study before the agency proceeds. The move is the latest step toward potential revision of the HOS regulations to provide additional flexibility to truck operators. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in June issued a pro- posal for the three-month split sleeper study in which the 240 drivers will be able to split their 10-hour off-duty period into segments such as 5-5, 6-4 or 7-3. Otherwise, drivers will operate as they normally would. Researchers will seek to determine whether such splits adversely affect op- erator fatigue levels or crash instances. – James Jaillet FMCSA PUSHING TO CLEAR SPLIT SLEEPER BERTH A fleet management company has an- alyzed trucking accident data from the U.S. Department of Transportation to determine the 10 most dangerous roads for truck drivers. Technology company Zonar says knowing which stretches of road typi- cally are most dangerous for trucks can help both drivers and fleets decrease their chances of getting into an acci- dent by possibly altering their routes or schedules. Using DOT's accident data from 2013 to 2016, Zonar found the top 10 most dangerous roads for truckers to be: • I-10 in Alabama • I-95 in Florida • State Route 75 in Idaho • I-40 in Arkansas • U.S. 1 in Florida • State Route 20 in Michigan • I-80 in Colorado • State Route 5 in Colorado • I-70 in Maryland • State Route 35 in South Carolina Although I-80 doesn't go through Colorado, Zonar says the accidents were reported on an offramp at the Colorado-Nebraska state line. – Overdrive Staff Tech company ranks 10 most dangerous highways WESTERN STAR and Daimler Truck Financial extended a program that offers discounts on new trucks to U.S. and Canadian military veterans. The Western Star VetStar Military Appreciation Program, available through 2018, offers U.S. military veterans up to a $2,000 match on a down payment on a new Western Star truck financed through DTF, while Canadian vet- erans are eligible for a $3,000 match. Glider kits and used trucks are not eligible. THE TRUCK DRIVER, bus driver and California Depart- ment of Transportation all were at fault in an October 2016 crash in Palm Springs, California, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled. The crash involved a tractor-trailer and a tour bus that resulted in 13 deaths and 31 injuries. NTSB also determined the trucker had untreated obstructive sleep apnea and the bus driver had untreated diabetes and was fatigued. TRUCKERS IN CALIFORNIA are seeing increased prices at diesel pumps after a 20-cent hike to the state's diesel excise tax went into effect Nov. 1, jumping from 16 cents per gallon to 36 cents. The state also increased the sales tax rate on diesel from 9 percent to 13 percent. Six other states have increased fuel taxes this year: Indiana, Montana, New Jer- sey, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. A DISPUTE BETWEEN TRUCKERS, allegedly over a spot in a fuel pump line at a Pilot truck stop in Walton, Kentucky, left Ronald Melvin Jr., 44, with a gunshot wound in his arm. The other driver, Jeffrey Maggard, 60, died from an ap- parently self-inflicted gunshot wound. NEARLY 1,700 TRUCKS were placed out of service for brake-related and other violations during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's Brake Safety Day on Sept. 7. ABS violations were found with 11 percent of air-braked tractors and 14 percent of air-braked trailers that require antilock braking systems.