Goal is for Greater Flexibility, FMCSA Says

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published proposed changes to current Hours of Service (HOS) regulations for truck drivers, with goal of improving flexibility for freight carriers, according to FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez.

"Drivers face congestion, parking issues, unexpected adverse conditions – and they need some flexibility," Martinez said on a conference call.

Supply Chain Digest Says... The ATA is often at odds on policy matters with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), but that wasn't the case here. What do you say? Click here to send us your comments Click here to see reader feedback

The new rules would make changes in current regulations in five key areas:

1. Changes in the 30-minute break: In perhaps the biggest proposed change, the new rules would requiret that a driver takes a break after eight hours of uninterrupted driving time, not on-duty as currently. This allows drivers to get credit for a break using on-duty/not driving status, rather than full off-duty. So, for example, time spent at a truckstop fueling and getting a drink could meet the requirement.

2. Splitting the sleeper berth requirement: The new rules would allow drivers to split the currently required 10 hours off-duty into two period, with one period of at least seven consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, and a second period of least two consecutive hours either off-duty or in the sleeper berth.

3. Pausing the on-duty clock: The new rules would permit one off-duty break of at least 30 minutes, but not more than three hours, that would pause a truck driver's 14-hour on-duty maximum, if the driver takes 10 consecutive hours off-duty at the end of the work shift.

Current regulations dictate that once a driver starts a work day, the clock runs for a maximum of 14 hours of work time before a break is required. Many believe this new rule will allow drivers more flexibility to, for instancem wait for rush hour congestion to end before starting, or deal with delays loading and unloading freight.

4. Adverse driving conditions: The new rules would also give drivers more flexibility in dealing with bad weather and high congesti. It would do so by changing the current adverse driving conditions to add two hours to the maximum window during which driving is permitted.

.(See More Below)

Current regulations allow for an extra two hours of driving time in adverse conditions, but those two hours must stay within the maximum 14-hour workday. Instead, the new rules would allow a drivers' workday to be extended to up to 16 hours.

5. Short-haul exemption: The new rules would change the current so-called "short-haul excemption" that can be used by some commercial drivers by increasing a drivers' maximum on duty period from 12 to 14 hours and lengthening the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.

Reactions on Both Sides

The trucking industry all told seemed quite positive about the proposed changes.

"Secretary Chao and Administrator Martinez are to be commended for their commitment to an open and data-driven process to update the hours-of-service rules," American Trucking Associations (ATA) CEO Chris Spear said in a statement. "We look forward to studying and understanding how these proposed changes will impact our industry so we can provide relevant data and information to strengthen and support a good final rule that bolsters safety and provides drivers needed flexibility.

The ATA is often at odds on policy matters with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), but that wasn't the case here.

"Truckers have families and want to get home safely just like everyone else. They are the most knowledgeable, highway safety advocates and the agency's proposal, overall, recognizes that fact," said OOIDA president Todd Spencer. He added that "There may not be a one-size fits all solution, but the proposed changes are a positive start, since truckers don’t have any control over their schedules or traffic conditions."

The Teamsters union, however, doesi not favor the proposed changes.

"In an effort to increase so-called flexibility for trucking companies, the FMCSA is abandoning safety and allowing drivers to push themselves to the limit even further," Teamster predident Jimmy Hoffa said. "Changes for short-haul truckers, for example, would extend their days from 12 to 14 hours on the job. That means a longer and more exhausting workday for tens of thousands of American workers. The Teamsters are also concerned about language changing the 30-minute rest break and the ability of drivers to press the pause button on their hours-of service-clock."

Some safety groups also criticized the new rules.

"Claiming that these changes ‘provide greater flexibility for drivers subject to the HOS rules without adversely affect safety' is a departure from reality as well as the agency's main mission: improving truck safety," the Truck Safety Coalition said in another statement. "Instead of moving forward on these rollbacks, the agency must produce compelling data to demonstrate that these changes will not lead to more health problems for truck drivers, more coercion of truck drivers and more crashes involving trucks drivers operating while fatigued."

An undetermined comment period on the proposed rules will now commence, which could result in changes to those rules before adoption.

Your Comments/Feedback