New Hours of Service
 

A new HOS rule issued by the Obama Administration should include the following basic safety parameters:

• 24-hour circadian schedule

• Lower daily driving and work time limits

• Lower weekly driving and work time maximums

• Increased daily off-duty time, including in sleeper berths

• Increased end-of-week rest time

• Recognition of safety hazards of night-time driving

• Universal Electronic On-Board Recorder (EOBR) requirement

Daily Shift Drive Time Maximum:
No more than 8 consecutive hours of driving per shift, based on extensive research findings that show dramatic increase in relative risk of crashes after 8 consecutive hours of driving.

Daily Shift Work Time Maximum:
12 hour work shift; 8 hours of driving, and 4 hours of other work and \ or rest breaks as the driver chooses

Daily Shift Off-Duty Time Maximum:
General rule:
12 hours of consecutive off-duty rest time to ensure minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep each night that research shows is needed to perform safely, and allow time for drivers to perform other daily non-work tasks

Sleeper Berth:
More than 8 continuous hours to ensure minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep each night that research shows is needed to expunge sleep debt and recover safe performance

Weekly Total Driving Time Maximum:
Maximum 40 hours 7 days

Weekly Total Work Time Maximum:
Maximum 60 hours in 7 days

End of Week Off-duty Time Minimum:
Minimum 48-hour off duty layover before starting another tour of duty

Source: Regulations.gov

All I know is that if that BS goes through (or anything similar), and our pay doesn't go up to make up for it, I'm done driving OTR - Period.

WOW!! Now that IS change. It will be interesting to see how much of that becomes regulation.

The last thing we need are more regulations and shorter work days. I suppose they could start bringing in workers from India, Mexico, etc., Oh wait, they are already doing that. 10 hours is way too much for me to take in the sleeper berth. I do just fine with 5-6 hours sleep. It is bad enough with 10 hours, now they want to add another 2 hours? They already complain about too many trucks on the road now they want to force all trucks to drive during daylight hours which is when most traffic is on the road. Then they want to reduce work time which will require more trucks to meet customer demands. Yea.....that is going to work.:hellno:

If the government passes all of the regulations,then the government better build more places for trucks to park.

They better prepare for a lot of freight to NOT get hauled, especially JIT freight. I find it strange that they will suspend the hos rules during a hurricane and that is safe yet they want to impose more rules to prevent us from driving at other times. :roll:

More proof FMCSA is run by a bunch of pencil pushing idiots.

Price of every thing will go way up, way to kill an economy, but some time's it just seems that what they want.

Not really. For the most part, shipping is only a fraction of the total cost of the goods you buy in the store. Do the math (not trucker's math either). Take the rate a load hauls for, and divide it by the amount of product in the load. For the products on store shelves, this usually only amounts to a few pennies per item. If that.

It'll be interesting to see how this affects team operations as well... would suck to keep a team from moving 4 hours a day because of reduced drive time and increased break time.

in new zealand we allowed 13 hours driving plus half hour rest every 5 1/2 hrs 14hrs total then 10hrs rest 70 hrs driving then 24hrs off .max weight without permit 45.5tonnes round 20 bucks hr .smokes $15 for 30 .beer $1 or so a can

I am not saying that Fozzy didn't read this somewhere. And I am not looking for a fight. But, has ANYONE clicked on his "source" link? I have... and there is no "there" there.

I haven't checked any of my trucker mag online websites, but I found NOTHING like this anywhere on the FMCSA site, and there is NOTHING in the "comment" document submitted by a Mr. Jasny that I found using Fozzy's link.

What I DID find was very interesting. It seems that under the Obama administration, and as a result of the continuous lawsuits by "concerned citizens, et al.," additional listening sessions were opened (though expired now) to get comments from truckers and others about how to construct a fair HOS that perhaps we could actually make into a Final Ruling.

The questions asked (by our government) showed... to me.... a willingness to explore some of the VERY ideas and concerns I've seen expressed here on CAD everytime this question comes up.

You should read the background info and questions at the following link:

Hours of Service - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

(oh... and you should stop assuming the worst from the Obama administration! he he....}

I will always assume anyone who toys with regs is a complete idiot until proven otherwise. Bad enough we have CSA 2010 about to go into effect. This is the last thing this industry needs right now.

:hellno:
If this is really gonna happen, lots of trucks will be sitting. There will be more trucks than you can shake a stick at everywhere!

These people need to justify a driver shortage somehow. By taking trucks off the road that is a sure way to have a shortage. :roll:

I don't think these rules will go into effect. They are unworkable.

Yeah. You might as well be local. :lol: :hellno:

If they really want big trucks off the roads, then maybe they can go back to the old ways of freightin', horses & buckboard wagons~ then I would be rich! lol

I think it would go up alot more than a little.In my case I do a dedicated JIT run and it takes a solid 10 hrs driving. The product is ordered and is sitting on their dock hrs later, if drive time is cut to say 8 hrs then I would need a relief driver with another truck (or team, NOT) That just raised shipping cost by almost double, and NO I'm not takeing a cut in pay to help cover the cost of another driver.

Of course it wasn't "there" you missed it by the time you looked it was here but don't bother looking here either cause by now it's gone some where else!

Depends on how big each item is. Look at the cost per unit to haul a load of big-screen televisions versus a load of aspirin.

Based upon these rules, you need to find a team partner or get ready to sit in some truck stop away from home on the weekends.

Lets all overreact to something that isn't gonna happen. BTW all those were submitted by the safety groups such as CRASH and the like as to what they wanted in the "new" rules.

Actually, some of us would be home all weekend (instead of just for one day) under these proposed rules. Heck, I'd LOVE to see those hours of service become law. Yes, I realize that I could potentially lose a little pay, but finally having two days off every week would work just fine by me. Disclaimer: I do NOT represent a very large portion of the industry. If I was still on 48-state, I'd never want hours of service like that. Where I am now, that's different.

The average truck driver stands to loose 25k a year from this proposal.

.30cpm x 65mph x 25 hrs lost x 52 weeks = 25,350

I don't know about you but that is not a small amount of money to me.

You're absolutely right. That is a fair chunk of change. However, something that I failed to mention was this. I normally drive about 8 hours a day as it is. The other 6 hours are usually on line 4. With this, I'd probably lose two hours of my day, give or take.
Also, it'd be nice if I still had one of those 65mph trucks.

You got off easy, my job will no longer exist if this goes through. My counterparts in East St. Loius and Albequerque won't be able to make their trips to swap and return in 8hrs. Which leaves me with my cheese hanging in the wind.

We need to express our views to the rule makers before any of this becomes law. Anyone can make suggestions or express their views as to how they would like for things to change or stay the same. If we had the same rules as now but with the ability to stop the clock and split our sleeper berth into 5 hours, that would work better for me. It would also work much better for teams. The problem with these groups such as CRASH or MADD, etc., is that they have never driven a truck. They only had a family member who was killed or hurt by someone who happened to be driving a truck so they now have a vendetta against anyone driving a truck. They think that they know best how we should sleep and work. I don't see the government doing something that will interfere to much of a degree with interstate commerce. Our economy relies on a strong and able trucking industry. The most likely changes will likely be an extension of the reset from 34 hours to 40 hours and our work day could be reduced to 10 hours. That is the most likely changes as it stands today. In any case, we need to make our voice heard to those who matter. Go online and find the rule and express your views. I don't recall the address, but it is on the OOIDA website.

Why does the governement think they have to create laws to structure when, where, and how, I sleep/drive anyway? It should be as simple as "drive when you're alert, sleep when you're tired." Would it really be that hard to enforce? The current HOS rules, and anything like THAT, only force me to drive when I'm tired and sit while I'm alert, which is exactly the opposite of their intention. I don't get it...

Well I guess you'd never be tired while driving again at 8 hours/day and sitting for 12-16 hours, but you'd sure as hell be bored...

It makes me more tired sitting around rather than working. Like I said, we all need to individually get on the federal website and make our views known. It doesn't take that much time and it should be done before comments are closed. I don't remember the time line. OOIDA is already involved and if you can't find the web address on their website then you could call them and get it. It doesn't do any good for us to complain to one another. We need to act and file our complaints or rather suggestions to the ones making the rules. You can rest assured that these nutty special interest groups are filing their views and likely getting volunteers to file to make it appear that many others share their view point.

Ferro expects HOS release in November

By Randy Grider

Anne Ferro, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, said Nov. 8 she expects the White House Office of Management and Budget to release the new hours-of-service rule by the end of this month.

Speaking at the International Conference on Commercial Driver Health and Wellness in Baltimore, Ferro said, “To assist and review [the proposed rule], the department requested an additional 30 days, so we expect something within that 30 days. I think it will be sometime in November,” Ferro said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”

FMCSA submitted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the OMB July 26 and had expected the office to finish its review Oct. 26 The agency had scheduled the NPRM for a Nov. 4 publication date and planned to allow public comment until Jan. 4.

The OMB met Oct. 18 with representatives from the National Retail Federation, National Industrial Transportation League, Waterfront Coalition, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Retail Industry Leaders Association, American Bakers Association and National Association of Manufacturers. Federal officials did not provide additional meeting information.

A year ago, the FMCSA entered into a settlement agreement to revisit the current rule, issued in 2008, and publish a final rule by July 26, 2011. Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Truck Safety Coalition and the Teamsters union had brought suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which had previously struck down the agency’s 2003 and 2005 versions of HOS.

This 2009 agreement stipulates that if the FMCSA produces a new HOS rule, “substantially different” from the 2008 rule, this may eliminate the need for judicial review of the current regulation.

Ferro declined to comment about the specifics of the new rule.

translated "substantially worse for drivers"

Winner! Winner! Winner!

Except you said it as though there'll be a choice available. As any fleet owner worth the stains in their Hanes would tell you, the most efficient truck on the road is the 24 hour truck aka TEAM. The proposed rule is the fleet owner's dream come true. Imagine how much better you'll feel when they pat you on the back and announce that, thanks to the new rule, the ONLY way to make a buck is to run teams. "Our hands are tied!"

As for the owner-ops, what are you going to do? Eat the lost revenue or find someone to team up with?

Did you wait for it to load? Then you have to click on the PDF link to open the document.
The info Fozzy outlined is there all right.

I say let them cry when their STUFF isn't in the stores for their convenience. As usual someone telling someone how to do something that they have never done and have no conception of. Oh and the actual extra hours sitting is for when your dispatch is sleepin'.

just don't do radar in VA ;-)

Okay, thanks. Everything loaded quickly. I clicked on every hyperlink I could find. I didn't know I had to click on the AdobeReader LOGO to see the comments. I have seen them there now.

However....I AGAIN want to point out that this is NOT anything official BY the FMCSA or even the gov't. This is just ONE submitted "comment" by Mr. Jasny who works on behalf of one of the "anti-trucker" groups. Obama has nothing to do with this other than the fact that His administration will be issuing the next interim or final ruling.

Mr. Jasny is just saying that these things SHOULD be included in the new ruling under the Obama administration. That he WANTS them to be included.

In further researching of the Regulations.gov website, I found the following "suggestions" in the form of a report actually REQUESTED by the Obama administration and generated by the DOT/FMCSA task force set up for the purpose of guiding the administration in formulation of the new HOS rules:

Regulations.gov

I think (once again) you will find some of the more trucker-friendly suggestions that I alluded to earlier that I found on the FMCSA site. And, to my mind at least, these might carry a bit more weight than Mr. Jasny's temper tantrum.

Mike3fan had it right, and he agreed with me, that many were overreacting to a "suggestion" that probably has NO chance in Heck of becoming a substantial part of the new HOS rules.

from that report "Consider a new comprehensive study on the use of activity monitors and other technologies in CMVs and their potential impact on driver health".

I can see the Lawyers lined up waiting to line their pockets off that one.

Most sleepers have 2 beds and 2 seats. By my reckoning there's room for 3 in there ;)

BTW, I haul fuel, and these companies abuse the hell out of HOS. Just because you are "allowed" to work 70 hours in 5 days doesn't mean you're -supposed- to do that. These guys work 70 hours in 5-6 days a week, take a 34 and do it all over again. That's 14 hour days on paper, and more like 15-16 IRL depending on the computer. And we are also allowed one 16 hour day per 34 hour reset. I would welcome a reduction in HOS just so I can have a life.

I would prefer if they could make some sort of distinction between local and OTR, rather than painting all trucks with the same brush. But since my company crosses state lines, we even then we'd probably be closer to OTR than local.

Well, it seems to be not too bad, but they still didn't adress the issue of flexibility.....
Hours-of-Service (HOS) Proposed Rulemaking (December 2010) - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

If there were no rules then we would have companies requiring yo to go 1000miles/day and giving you your amphetamines with your bills. It may be good for O/Os to be able to run like they want but if i was forced to run twice the miles for the same pay...i couldnt take it.

Exactly, whatever the max allowable driving time is, we are expected to so so, therefore anyone who slept bad the night before or had a badday o whatever is a hazard. we may be fine with 5-6 hrs sleep ,but regulations are not made for each individaul according to their safe margins. if they were then we'd be competing against eachother for how long we can drive in a day etc.