A new bill making its way through the Senate is looking to make trucking safer, but has taken an unusual strategy to do. The Truck Safety Act is a many-pronged approach to safety, but perhaps the most interesting aspect of it is that it would mandate that truck drivers must get paid for all hours worked regardless of whether or not they’re driving.
While the bill wouldn’t replace per mile pay for truckers, it would require carriers to pay their drivers an hourly wage for time spent working, but not driving.
“Unfortunately, standard industry practice is for truck drivers to be paid based on miles driven and not hours worked, causing truckers to be overworked, which creates perilous safety conditions on the nation’s roads,” said Cory Booker, the Senator who proposed the bill.
Hourly driver pay isn’t the only safety measure proposed in the bill however. Sen. Booker’s bill also proposes an increase in minimum insurance levels from $750,000 to $1.5 million, mandatory collision avoidance systems, mandatory speed limiters, and would even mandate a study to examine how drivers commuting to work before starting their shift can affect their driving.
The last seems to be a clear response to the high-profile crash which injured actor/comedian Tracy Morgan and killed fellow comedian James McNair. The accident involved a Walmart truck driver who, despite being within his allowable hours, allegedly had not slept in 24 hours at the time of the crash due to his long commute from home to start working.
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roadtoad says
Drivers should be compensated for both the effort to move the truck forward and for their time waiting/fueling/loading/unloading/breakdown. No other industry expects you to do something with nothing in return.
Quiet staggering how many people sign on to a modern day slave trade where the pay you get is moving your truck from point A to B with little or no compensation for anything else.
But honestly, if you are stupid enough to knowingly sign on to those outfits it is nobody’s fault but your own. It is nice to see that people inside the government are taking note in the absurd level of pay for truck drivers, but the road to hell is always paved with good intentions. Let the ATA dig their own graves with their practices.
BASEBALLbat says
The dirty, underground part of the business that keeps them wealthy, and everyone else fighting for scraps.
Lee says
You must be a former ‘stupid’ driver…glad you woke up!…
charleydan says
Interesting concept that many will buy into. The industry as a whole always offered a flat fee for stops and other incidentals unless they did not have issues there. Just making it a flat hourly fee will not cure much of anything. As they will just adjust the wage to min. or what ever to fit there ways or even cut your mileage pay to compensate. Workers have to be watched in the work place for an employer to get an honest days wage. So both sides need some monitoring and I do not think any law is going to fit all situations. Unless, they monitor every movement you do, via camera. Not my kind of living.
Corky Freeman says
That’s what I’ve been saying all along, they will lower the hourly rate to compensate for having to pay by the hour. I’ve said all along that you should be paid by the hour from the time you arrive at the terminal to get your truck, go load or drop and hook it, until you go off-duty. If your dispatcher says to show up at the yard at 9 AM that’s when you go on duty and your clock starts. You show up at the customers an hour later and find out your due to load at 9 o’clock that night, not a problem…. you’re on the clock. Two hours later at 11 o’clock your released to leave, but you just used up your 14. Off to bed for 10 hours. Get up at nine the next morning and start all over. Now on a long haul you’re only going to work 11 hours that day but you’re unable to go home or do much of anything else because you have to tend to the truck. Now my plan is a driver should be paid for 14 hours per day. If a driver voluntarily goes to bed early, because that’s his regular bedtime, no problem just pay the hours up till then. If the driver makes his services available and continue driving, pay until he runs out of hours. Now as far as pay, a truck driver, over the road, should be paid no less than $18 an hour plus overtime. That comes up to $306 a day, minimum. Now being as your at the behest of your company you should also get per diem pay for babysitting their equipment and freight. Considering that you’re on the road expenses are going to run you about $50 a day that should pretty well cover it as long as you’re in a sleeper truck. Now were up to about $350 a day. A full week and you’ll make $1750 or about $90,000 a year. When you consider what the average OTR trucker does to get his job done, long hours, time away from home and family, inherent risks both on and off the highway etc. $90,000 a year is very reasonable. Now the rub comes in very few companies, especially your seat meat carriers, are only willing to pay about half of that. So to get by with that they’re going to have to eliminate the per diem pay, and cut the per hour wages to something in the neighborhood of $10-$12 an hour. Which is about all that they’re paying now as it is, but most drivers cannot see that, their thinking is there walking in tall cotton. Wow…… I’m making almost twice as much as I did at Mickey D’s. Wrong! You’re barely making more than what you were doing flipping burgers when you consider the time involved and the job description. But so far these carriers make damn sure you don’t know that or drivers would quit en masse. So far these carriers have found all kinds of scams to convince ignorant drivers that they’re making a lot more money than they really are. All the way from phony bonuses to borderline illegal lease purchase scams. And like sheep to the slaughter the drivers just keep walking in. The only problem if they had to pay what they really should they would probably just start sneaking in illegal aliens. After all they are willing to work cheap. Face it guys, you’re working for quantity rather than quality. Most OTR driving jobs are just crap. Long hours low pay and a lifetime worth of BS. I’m just starting to look at the end of my driving career, maybe 3 to 5 years and then retirement, but the way things are going I think I’ll give it up a lot sooner. Walmart is begging for workers and for just a few dollars less I can have a life.
Zavetta Taylor says
Walmart where I work pays more weekly than I make. Sad
Bill says
Agreed
Gino says
If that happen mileage pay will be cut. You’ll have to be on duty to be paid hourly pay which will only be around $15 an hour. That will kill your 70. Bottom line less money for the driver.
John Burleson says
When I got the opportunity to go to an hourly driving job I snatched it. Like all the other drivers, I’ve sat at docks while the dock jockys compared tattoos. The only thing that got them moving was when I started unloading my own truck –in the middle of their drive way. Didn’t make friends, but there’s enough deliveries to go ’round. My problem with hourly wages is it WILL come out of mileage pay, 401-k or insurance (for those lucky enough to get it).
Bob says
All this will do is cause companies to lower their rate per mile to make up the difference.
Vlad says
It is the right thing to pay drivers for all their efforts But at the Same time it is fair to say that small companies out there paying 0.45 to 0.50 CPM will have to adjust down the pay per mile to make room for the Hourly Pay.
And Probably big companies that pay way less per mile will adjust down as well. At the end Truck Drivers are will get Pay the SAME!!!
Josh says
I get paid a guaranteed salary plus mileage pay and load and unload pay if I drive over 1900 miles per week. I am in the hazmat tanker side of trucking. Truck drivers who do not have it as good as me when it comes to compensation, does not mean they deserve it because they agreed to work for the company. They have a family to feed, and that out weighs how fair it is to themselves. Stop pointing your finger at others, cause you got 3 pointing back at you
nikki says
The finger pointing thing is totally irrelevant! lol
Rick Smith says
If I had a nickel for every hour I spent sitting in loading docks I’d be a rich man.
Many consignees and shippers couldn’t care less about a trucker’s time.
I once spent over SIX HOURS in Nestles at Breinigsville, PA,
with the explanation that they were training a new crew. Supposed to get
wait time, which I never did.
If consignees or shippers HAD to pay for a trucker’s time, you would see
trucks loaded and unloaded at warp speed, which would be fine with ANY
trucker. As it is truckers are treated like their time is inconsequential.
Steve N says
Spent over 3 hours at the Nestle in King William just to swap a loaded trailer for an empty, didn’t need a dock, just a trailer swapped out at their yard. Didn’t bother me as I’m hourly but I don’t know how you guys do it.
Jakob says
My worst wait would have to be coca cola in AZ, got there at my appointment time and they tell me to go find a spot on the street to park until im called, 6 hours later I got called, 3 hours later after docked I was unloaded.
sudon't says
I’ve spent ten hours in a dock. Instead of first unloading, then counting, they would do their inventory on my time. These food service places are the worst. The company I was with wouldn’t pay detention if lumpers were used, and of course, all these food service places use lumpers.
Here’s an idea. Instead of making up new laws, why not just put truckers under the same laws every other worker is under – the Fair Labor Standards Act? Of course, they’ve been chipping away at that, with all these “Right to Fire” states.
Rick Smith says
That brought back a memory of a Piggly Wiggly warehouse in, I think it
was South Carolina. Bad enough you have to hire lumpers to unload you,
but these south of the border midgets got me unloaded, but for a couple
pallets. DING DONG. Lunch Time.
I tried to ask them if I could pull the pallets off, but no speak English.
So I had to wait for them to eat their tacos and take their siesta.
I have a whole section of my brain sealed off, filled with bad trucking
memories. Like bad sectors of a hard drive.
DAVID says
I hear ya! I spent several hours waiting at a dock because the Union rep wanted 150.00 to unload me. The shipper would pay 75.00. I started unloading myself, but I was last in line for a forklift, and some other absurd rules….finally my dispatcher authorized the fee. I was unloaded in 10 minutes…just saying…
Chad Mathis says
You said exactly what I would have said ,so there was no need for my comment, your right if they had to pay for all your time spent there or your company did, there would be more motivation to get your truck unloaded, they don’t care since the only pocket it’s coming out of is the drivers
Darrin says
Yes I agree. All these things take a toll on the driver. Drivers should be compensated for on duty not driving time. Commuting should be considered HOS driving.
Les_gvt says
and that means stopping at Denny’s to eat breakfast now goes against your HOS- great
Curly says
If memory serves me, if you drive more that 8 hrs to get to work it is supposed to count against your clock. Unless you take a 10 hr break before starting your shift. Might be off a little, but there is a rule in the regs covering commuting.
Zavetta Taylor says
True
DAVID says
The SD/ND DOT always told me to start my day WITH the time I left home to get to truck. Sometimes that was several hour drive. I always made sure to go a day early.
Robert says
Just barely spent over 3 hours sitting at a Walmart distribution center. With a load I could easily unload myself in 20 minutes. I don’t get paid a dime for detention unless I’m there 4+ hours. It’s called on duty for free.
SirByrd says
I’ve been saying all along— If we’re getting regulated by the hour, we ought to be getting paid by the hour.
What goes on now is like gasoline being regulated by the gallon but paid for by the time.
SirByrd says
I’ve been saying all along— If we’re getting regulated by the hour, we ought to be getting paid by the hour.
What goes on now is like gasoline being regulated by the gallon but paid for by the time.
SirByrd says
Stop with the ppm OTR companies and sign up with pph local temp agencies. They’re all over the place.
Drivers get screwed because they allow it.
Len says
Your then giving the temp agency part of your efforts. Why would you do that?
Tony says
I’m all for it! Might have some unintended consequences such as speeding up slow customers since the trucking companies will pass the cost to them, I can support this!
Les_gvt says
you better hope they load you faster- because at the slower speeds they want- you are going to need all that time to make your run.
If they don’t – you just supported screwing your paycheck- because you did not include time for that extra 10 hour break
Infosaur says
Nope. You tell the broker that if the shipper can’t load the trailer in a timely fashion, it’s not on me to make the delivery on time.
You can’t do 300 miles in 3 hours.
John says
Every one spends time undercutting rates instead of getting a rate that makes money. Drop customers that do not pay waiting time and problem solved
John says
Great be paid for every hour worked but at how much per hour would these greedy trucking companies be willing to pay minimum wage?
Infosaur says
Minimum wage would be an improvement for some.
Craig says
I am a small fleet owner that is leased to another company. Our drivers are paid on a percentage as opposed to mileage. When I worked for my first otr company in 2003 we were paid hourly. It was 50 miles equaled 1 hour and then we got paid 2 hours for a pick or a drop regardless if it took 5 minutes. We were paid more hours if it took 30 hours to get loaded we got paid 30 hours. We were also paid overtime after 40. They changed the pay structure in 2004 and went to $.36 a mile and $.20 deadhead. Guys that ran miles made the same money as they had before. Whenever they finally put us all on ELD’s tracking the hours will be pretty easy.
JJ says
Im Company driver, after 2 hrs at the shipper its automatic detention, as long as you write it on the BOL, and send in their QualComm Detention form, and they give you 24 hrs to scan your paperwork. Very easy really, and I always get paid for it in the next pay check, sorta no non-sense at our company anyways. The shipper knows the rules, some choose to pay the detention and others choose to get you loaded/unloaded within that 2 hr window. Min. 1 hr. and max. 13 hrs pay detention pay,goes in increments of 15 mins after 3 hrs, then it goes into full blown Layover Pay plus the detention pay.
Les_gvt says
Everyone here seems to be focusing on the pay- and ignoring the rest of this bill- which is exactly what they want.
Raising the minimum will more than double insurance costs. How many o/o’s can really afford another $600- 1,000 a month?
If you are forced to have a speed limiter, how will that affect your ability to make up for lost time after a traffic delay? the ability to do 67 instead of 62 can make a difference- or what about the 3 mile long line of traffic that accumulates as a Swift tries to pass a JBH? How do you think that will affect PR for the trucking industry?
Then of course, you have the issue that as EDL’s are forced on trucks, and reduced speed is required, how many miles can you cover in a day? that 650 mile run you once did in an 11 hour shift, now becomes a 22 hour trip, and reduces your ability to make money.
Look past the icing on the top of the pile of shit
phatkhat says
Yes, you nailed it. The pay thing sounds good, but the rest of it not so much. I can’t speak to the insurance thing, because DH is a company driver for a smallish fleet, and not sure how that will affect his pay. The company only hires older, experienced drivers, and for insurance reasons. But if the insurance goes up much, it may make raises in pay a bit harder to come by, and they are already scarce.
The pay thing in this bill is small potatoes next to the rest of it, and Booker knows it. It’s probably an effort to get drivers on hourly – read: minimum wage – pay instead of the kind of “production” pay they now get. If the ATA endorses this, you KNOW it’s screwing drivers.
My DH’s company has gone to e-logs coupled with speed limiters, which isn’t so great. He has a dedicated run, and used to get home on Friday nights. Now he gets home on Saturday mornings.
Though they are governed at 68, he drives the west, where speed limits are in excess of 80 mph in places, and there is little traffic. And he hauls max loads most of the time. He’s had to jump through hoops to adjust his schedule to even make all his stops on time.
I think what legislators don’t think about is that split speed limits (and speed limiters cause exactly that) create more hazards than they eliminate. Try driving through any city at rush hour when the traffic is moving at 75 and some trucks are stuck at 55-62. And staying in the right lane is a hazard with heavy on/off ramp traffic.
Not to mention the situations you mention, and the absolute boredom of driving across the desert at a slow speed, when everyone else flies by you at 85. We live 20 minutes from the TS where DH parks, but for a lot of guys, that HOS thing will be a bite in the butt if they live a ways from the yard or TS where they leave the truck.
Write/call your senators. Write/call Sen. Booker. I know I will. Kick up a ruckus that doesn’t stop. Let OOIDA know how you feel. So-called “safety” bills have been killed before.
Bryan says
an increase of pay would be nice, but I’m not holding my breath. I think however much you make out here if you’re a company driver is heavily dependent on how your run. I don’t expect owner operators or small companies to be able to take the hit of more insurance costs. Everybody gets so hung up on speed on these highways. You don’t really save any time because there are too many factors that can slow you down, traffic mountains and major cities. At the end of the day you may save five minutes by running 67 instead of 62. The only time that will make a difference is if you drove through the night time when no body is out here. During the day it is too many factors that could slowly all the way down.
phatkhat says
Don’t run the desert southwest much, do you? I can tell you the reduced speed WILL hurt drivers who run long runs outside of heavily populated areas on the coasts and big cities.
George Dorman says
Just retired from a company that paid us $ 24.00 over time after 40, average 65 to 70 hrs a week. 100K a yr. But of course there were guys that abused it. Taking 14 hrs to do a 10 hr run. Even running out of route just to get their hrs, even if there was a driver waiting for the truck.
Mark says
I would like to know what company that is!
Tim says
I’d much rather be paid for detention than for routine tasks like fueling or going to a Blue Beacon that doesn’t have a long line. As my trainer told me 20 years ago when he pointed to my logbook, “That’s your money.”
Les_gvt says
point to ponder-
How much $$$$ will speed limiters make state, county and city governments???
If they know you are regulated at 65mph- and you are clocked at 67 going downhill with a 46kload? how many of these city cops sitting on the highway especially will nail you?
that means you are personally going to be out $200-300, you will have points on your DL, and your CSA
They already think of trucks as rolling ATM’s- so now we are wanting to put a flashing neon light on our rigs as well?
doesn”t sound real bright to me
Thi
Infosaur says
Nah, you’ll just piss off the 4 wheelers with your two mile long pass, then they shoot out in front of you, flipping the bird at 80.
And in a moment of sweet cosmic justice, there’s officer speed trap.
Trucks roll by at 65 and the four wheelers get to talk to Johnny Law.
Timothy W Lucas says
During a conversation with Terry, the GLS CEO of a Springdale, Ar. company and Bob about sitting 40 hrs. in the last ten days I submitted my resignation. As I understand it and was told that sitting for nothing is what we truck drivers do. Chained to a local based furniture store limiting distance we sit a lot and runs shorter coupled with a fourteen hour rule makes things worse as Terry vows we are to run legal but as with many companies Bob isn’t married to that rule so it’s good cop bad cop. No sympathy or detention to the driver as they are expected early to sit but detention pay based on appointment time insuring the sit time not the detention pay. Sound familiar?
phatkhat says
If you are looking for an Arkansas-based company that is decent to work for, try JM Bozeman out of Malvern. DH has been with them for almost 4 years. The pay is decent, they keep a new fleet, and they are really nice to the drivers. No trucking company is perfect, of course, but they are definitely a cut above. They don’t have a lot of turnover, which says a lot.
Timothy W Lucas says
This proposal will be void of anything that nails a company down. It will have loop holes and skirting. First order will be how to avoid paying these hourly wages but collecting more from transportation cost. Nailing this down would be a time card stamped from the time you start till the time you get back. If it’s worded or has options it will be exploited and lawyers in Washington will provide this skirting of the very thing they propose to aid the transportation field that solicit their services for their advantage. If it appears I don’t trust Washington or politicians you are correct.
jc says
Why not just make it like every other job out there and make the whole thing hourly with overtime. If they do that they won’t have to worry about speed limiters and vehicle avoidance systems which y accidents and don’t work to begin with.
Douglas Kirk says
The government has finally found a way to destroy the economy, which is already shaky. Take twice as long to move freight, fork out more money for wages and insurance than you take in. Sounds like they should be mandating a 400 percent increase in rates instead. Oh, wait. Deregulation was designed to LOWER rates, which it has effectively done for 30 years. Consumers-all of us including you and me-won’t stand for cost increases brought on by suppliers passing thru the increase in shipping costs. So, somewhere along the line, somebody will be willing to eat some of that extra cost. Just out of the goodness of their little pea-pickin’ heart. Sure. Why not? Too bad the government is staffed by morons and idiots who live in a fantasy world, and don’t recognize reality till it bites them in the ass.
a. beatty says
The shippers and consignee are not the ones responsible for paying the drivers…they pay the trucking companies quite well. And, I’m sure that, in their price quotes, the trucking companies quote a price for paying their drivers for sitting, waiting, loading, and unloading. Like another comment or said, if I had a nickel for all the hours i’ve spent waiting, I would be rich.
Les_gvt says
If you really want to see a change in sitting time- make the s/r have a company checkbook iin the office- and have them pay the driver right then and there (and make it tax free for the driver) @ $30/hr minimum and then let the company charge them for the detention of the truck itself
amardeep says
Trk driver should be paid for every hour they are in the trk. The driver is responsible for trk and trl even when he is sleeping in the trk. The company and insurance holds driver responsible if anything should happen to their equipment.
Motrukdriver says
Keep the hourly pay. I’ll take my detention and layover pay instead. This is just a way to sugar coat the DOT’s mandatory speed limiters proposal. It is all in the same bill. VOTE NO if you have an opportunity to vote.
Jon says
The easiest way to regulate the industry (1) is to limit the percentage that the freight brokers can skim off the top, wherefore the freight company receives more money to pay the drivers, this will also make the broker more diligent in getting loads covered, as they will have to move more freight to be able to drive a new car every year, (2) require the shippers to pay a minimum of $40. per hour detention time after the first hour, that includes time sitting in line to check in at the gate, (3) require the trucking company to pay ALL detention time, collected to the driver, it is the drivers time that is being wasted.
royce dressel says
Wait till they lay the 4 separate taxes on the split pay and see how you like it. This will give the industry an excuse to lower pennies a mile too. OMG, how stupid do you think truck drivers are? We get jacked over ever more every time some thieving geek in a suit walks by, and you actually think “this time it will get better” I am sick in my soul with all the “help” I have received over the years. I am BEGGING you @$$holes, DO NOT HELP ME. Can you understand? DO NOT HELP ME.
Mark says
Drivers should be paid hourly, with OT, period. As it is, drivers get screwed sitting in traffic backups, waiting at docks, etc. Whoever came up with the per mile pay in the first place needs their teeth kicked in.
Stephen Thornton says
If we are paid for every hour worked, how many drivers would sit on duty all day long just to get paid? Pre and post trip now are between 7 to 15 minutes, then they will become 15 minutes to 1 hour. Your 70 hour clock will be exhausted faster and less freight will move bc people are greedy. Wanting something for nothing. Why should you get paid for loading/unloading if you are not physically doing the work? Fueling take 5 to 10 minutes, really….not enough to get paid by the hour. If you want to be paid by the hour then your clock needs to be on duty and again that will exhaust your 70 hours quickly. If you are a flatbedder, stepdecker, gen, cattle hauler, car hauler, etc….then it would make sense because you are working. If you are a van driver or refrigerated driver…depends on if you are physically unloading. But once the law has passed, we’ll see who takes advantage of it…..
Steve says
Really? If your true my pre/post tripping a tractor trailer it should take you 1/2be not 7-15 min. Unless your pre/post are like a child scan of a room, quick look , I can’t find it….
Infosaur says
You say :30 min pre-trip like it’s a BAD thing?
Maybe if we were paid for that time, if we found a bulb out during our pre-trip we’d actually get it FIXED. Instead of leaving it for the next driver. (Or running with it out, hey the lights are off HALF the day, right?)
Chrystal Ann says
Finally after all these years the government is finally proposing what should have happened decades ago. I worked for 20+ years as a professional driver and got my license before the CDL and trucking schools. I’ve seen lots of truckers used up and tossed aside like yesterdays trash by unscrupulous companies. People are looking to the Tracy Morgan/WalMart crash but thousands of people have been killed and injured. Look up the companies you want research going to work for and see what is really going on in the industry on Rip Off Report – one of the only places to see what the professional drivers are going through. One company (K&B) even has fine print in their orientation paperwork making it legal for them (if they don’t like you) to ship you off on a bus at your expense and go back over your entire pay since your hire date and calculate it based on minimum wage. Lots of horror stories out there. A company that has no reports there isn’t playing games, simple as that. The H1B Visas bringing in foreign workers insources workers where a US Citizen won’t work for slave wages and horrible conditions. That is what some of these companies are doing. Remember, being a truck driver is classified by the DOL as a non-skilled laborer believe it or not. Maybe that classification needs to be revisited by the Senate while they are considering paying people for what used to be line 4, on duty not driving. I realize some companies have been complaining to the shippers/consignees about wasting drivers time at the docks but without a punch in/punch out system to document the time and adequately compensate other than a token drop pay must be addressed if we are serious about truckers lives mattering too. We have loved ones we want to see too and we’d like to be able to have money when we are off duty to enjoy the fruits of OUR labor.
Chrystal Ann says
PS. Saying a driver shouldn’t get pay if they are in the dock area would work if they let the driver bobtail out and spend his/her time where they want to go. We are a captive workforce. Not doing the unloading/loading isn’t the issue, its a matter of being told to be a certain place for a certain job. If you were told to show up to work in an office and your job was to be there if they needed you to do a task are YOU going to sit there for free and you can’t leave? How many shippers/receivers hire the least workers on the dock and take advantage of drivers stuck in the dock? Use some critical thinking skills when you allege that “lazy” drivers are going to take advantage of getting paid to wait for loading/unloading.
Ken says
The last thing you ever want is to get the government involved. They will only create more nonsense without any benefit to the driver. Some driver’s make $500 a week while others make over $2000 a week. You get what your worth or what you’re willing to go after.
Chrystal Ann says
359 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3224
Fax: (202) 224-8378
http://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=275
Minimum Insurance – Increases the minimum levels of insurance trucks must carry from $750,000 to $1.5 million. Insurance minimums have not been raised since the 1980’s and the current amounts do not provide adequate compensation for victims. The bill also increases insurance levels to keep pace with inflation, and gives the Secretary of Transportation discretion to raise minimum levels if deemed necessary.
•Collison Avoidance Systems – Requires a rulemaking for commercial motor vehicles to have crash avoidance systems, such as forward collision warning systems and lane departure warning systems. The NTSB found that these advanced systems are critical to preventing rear-end collisions, thus saving lives and reducing injuries.
•Speed Limiting Devices – Requires the Secretary of Transportation to finalize regulations requiring commercial motor vehicles to have speed limiting devices to prevent speeding. Safety advocates have estimated that the rule could prevent more than 1,000 fatal crashes.
•Driver Compensation – Requires the Secretary of Transportation to mandate that employers compensate truck drivers for hours worked. Unfortunately, standard industry practice is for truck drivers to be paid based on miles driven and not hours worked, causing truckers to be overworked which creates perilous safety conditions on the nation’s roads.
•Excessive Commuting – Would require a study on the effects of excessive commuting. There are concerns that far too often, truck drivers commute several hours to and from their base of operation, only adding to the grueling schedules many of them already work.
I agree with everything except the speed limiters. The fact is that cars are usually at fault in accidents involving trucks. Maybe scrap that provision and do something that addresses the problem of cars no knowing how to interact with trucks on the highway. Maybe training using a simulator and it is programmed to have cars jumping in front of them and have them see what its like to try to stop an 80k lb vehicle. Some people think big wheels, big brakes and then you have kids every year hitting the highway and at least in my neighborhood they pull bone-headed stunts out in the real world like stopping in the middle of the street while they make a decision on what to do etc. If its really about saving lives lets get to the problem instead of slapping a speed limiter on the truck. There’s been times when I have needed to speed up my truck for safety reasons (violent weather etc.).
Alexander says
I recently spent 12 hours in El Paso because I had to return to the shipper three times to get the load readjusted. Since I didn’t drive any miles towards the delivery, didn’t get paid Ess Aych that day. The definition of slavery.
Les_gvt says
This is a Teamsters bill- Booker is from NJ- where the unions tell you when you can wipe your butt- and this is all designed to make it so as fleets and o/o’s especially can not go faster than the UPS /SEMF/RL drivers in their wiggle wagons want to go- They have been crying for years that it is not fair that they can only do 65 and others can do 66-. They also know they are overpaid for how little they actually do- and as pointed out- want to see everyone else start taking an hour to pre trip- , etc.
but the thing is- once all the hourly things kick in- it will not be long before they want to start trying to unionize Schneider, Swift, etc-
also take a look at their contracts- I am sure their hourly rate is somehow tied to the items in this bill- which means they would get automatic raises without ever setting foot in a negotiating room
Brent says
Just wanted to say, companies that pay for your time DO already exist, you just have to shop around and find one. I did. I am a local driver, home every night, I get paid mileage, loaded miles base rate is 50¢/mi, adjusted higher based on gallons or tonnage hauled. My average loaded is 54¢/ mi during spring, summer, and autumn, and 56+¢/mi during the winter. I get 50¢/mi empty. Now, I get $22 to load AND to unload the trailer. I also get $22/hr detention, after the first hour at either a shipper or receiver. Considering it takes an hour to unload, and 30-45 minutes to load, I can honestly say, I get paid for my time. It took me almost 20 years to find this company, it is family owned and operated, with approximately 700 trucks on the road. Like I said, they exist, you just have to find them. Being Specialized is probably a plus also. We haul liquid and dry bulk commodities. I say look around, you can find them. Oh, I forgot to mention, my day starts at 2 am, and I am home between noon and 1 pm, usually. Full benefits, Retirement plan, access to their Federal Credit Union, and we are NON Union.
Jimmy says
This is going to wind up being another one of those unintended consequences bills if it passes. 9 times out of 10 waits have nothing to do with trucking companies but shippers. Do you think truck companies can pass that cost on to the shippers? If they can no problem but unless it’s written in the bill it will be a disaster for small businesses. I have no problem with people being compensated for time not driving but who will pay? Most companies cannot absorb this cost and stay afloat.
Mark says
Drivers act like they’re the only ones who don’t get paid by the hour. Take a look at any job involving commission – you have good days and bad days. Our good days are at 60+mph, our bad days are stuck in traffic. The companies’ policies dictate how the spread lays out. And there are way too many drivers who don’t bother to ask enough questions before signing on somewhere.
Bend over and take it or find somewhere else. This bill isn’t going to do jack to help you.
larry harlow says
i say we get paid like day cabbers. 17 bucks an hour and all over 40 is time and a half. 2465.00 for a 70 hour week is fair enough. otr’s are the only ones still paid piss poor mileage.
Bill says
This is a BS bill. They want to increase wages? What about OO?? Can’t pay them hourly. And in exchange they double insurance premiums, mandatory collision alert systems, mandatory speed limiters and who knows what else they’ll pile on. I’ll stick with what I got. They want to get rid of the owner ops people. Can you not see the turmoil this will cause..of course not. All most see is that little bit of money they flash and you think they’re helping you. Sad.
Bill says
Did u guys even read the whole article??
Mark says
Another one of those ideas from someone who has never driven for a living. The bigger companies will make sure pay stays the same, if hourly pay becomes the requirement unless minimums are in place the big runners will game the system.
I recently had an eight hour detention that paid me $15 per hour – I certainly wouldn’t want that taken away.
Bottom line, many of us work for companies who pay us fairly and like our current deals, we need the government to stop trying to help us without first spending time with real drivers and O/O to better understand our wants. I invite Mr Booker to come on the rod with me, I’d be happy to introduce him around to real truckers.
Chad Mathis says
We can always adopt parts of the bill we like and boot the parts we don’t, my point is sitting at a dock for 6 to 8 hrs away from home and my family and not getting paid for it needs to change, nothing about is right, and if you think it is, than your an idiot,need to definitely dissect this bill ,not arguing with that fact, don’t want to be paid hourly or be regulated anymore than I am already
J Ossowski says
Why not put speed limiters on the cars as well? Why not limit how long everyone can be “on duty” every day? Car drivers get tired driving a desk all day, don’t they? Less than 1% of collisions, incidents even come close to the current insurance requirements. Why increase it now? “Collision avoidance systems” take control of the truck from the driver causing more problems as the driver tries to take it back. I’d like to be paid for all of the time I spend working, too, but I’m not willing to get it by giving in to all of the other mandates intended to slow us down and increase control over us. Each of the items in this bill, like every multi-item bill, need to be introduced separately and on their own (lack of) merit.
Fataiijelu says
And driver should not drive more than 40 hours a week and any hours after 40 hours is over time paid double less hour to work more money for professional drivers . Stop using us as your tools . Driving semi truck is a hard work and deadly machine. To operate daily you need rest and fitness
Meg says
Alot of requirements must continually be met in order to keep Class A CDL’s and medical cards. These items are required for driving, we are held to a higher standard of safety practices by the D.O.T around an unsafe motoring public. Daily we fight to keep our jobs and deliver our important freight amongst daily commuters, texters and drunken drivers. This change would be showing respect to drivers, our job dedication and that commitment to safety.
Larry says
I think you should clock in and get payed till you clock out with all hours over 40 pay overtime rate!
Anthony Suarez says
PLEASE GET OVER THE WALMART ACCIDENT. HE WAS NOT UP FOR 24 HOURS. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT.
Charlie says
Be careful what you wish for. We don’t need more government regulation. From the comments I’ve read so far, sounds like most want govt to step in and take care of them. Stand up for yourself. A man told me a long time ago, “If you don’t like your job, quit.” I can’t speak for the big companies, I can only speak for me. If the truck doesn’t bring in the revenue to pay by the hour then your job won’t last long. I am an owner op, own auth, I don’t get paid for every minute I’m in the truck and I don’t expect to. Employees will suck the life out of a company with the ” big bad company thinking”. “If you don’t like your job, quit.”
Bay0Wulf says
The companies I have worked for allegedly had payments that covered many of these issues.
After one hour, Detention Pay was due. Layover pay was due if longer than one day. In one company where the work was by “percentage” of load, over 100 miles to next pick-up brought up mileage pay. Extra Stop Pay and Unload Pay …
The problem I had with all the “extra” or “supplementary” pays was that most of them were “alleged”.
Detention Pay & Holdover Pay were conditional on being paid by the receiver/customer and were payable only after they were paid by the customer … of course the trucking company never charged because they didn’t want to lose the customer it so … there were also all kinds of contions to that … if you were on a dock you weren’t considered to be “held over” or “detained”. If you arrived 5 minutes late you were subject to the idea that the receiver then could get to you anytime … in the next 24+ hours (WalMart DSC) without any compensation.
Unloads were not determined by type. Dragging pallets of petfood and stuff was a lot different than unloading a floor loaded “KayBee Toys” or “Micheals” or similar but the pay was the same.
Basically, the companies made a lot of promises to new drivers and then used every loophole in the book to get out of living up to any of them. There are even laws on the books to support a driver’s claims but …
I don’t see these new laws as a solution for drivers. It might help in some places. I can see where they might very well do so. I can also see other places where they will damage a driver’s bottom line.
whaa says
Sounds good to me, mandatory detention pay as soon as u get to a s/r and pay for the ten hour break would be sweet. It’s part of our job so why shouldn’t we get paid for it? Screw that “the first 2-6 hours are free” bull and pay us! U don’t see anyone else clocking out and still doing their job.
super trucker says
Awesome stuff. A lot of companies take advantage of their drivers.
Magnus says
Foolish people, they think more big Gov. intervention is going to solve their problems for them. At the start of today you are going to make X amount of money, if this bill passes you are still going to make the same X amount of money. The company will just cut your per mile pay and then you will be paid minimum wage for the rest.
All these ELD drivers that are now logging off duty at shippers, receivers, etc. will now have to log on duty to get paid. Next they will be still complaining how they are not making enough money. What then, you want the Gov. to step in and tell the companies how much you have to earn per day. Maybe you can get some Gov. big wig to ride along and ….well…. tie your shoes for you.
I drive OTR and make a good living doing so. I’m out one week max, take home about $1100 per trip, and I take off 3/4 days between runs. Good money, good home time, and the company treats their drivers like real humans. Sure there are times I’m sitting on docks or waiting for produce etc., but that’s just part of the job. Times I get some detention, and I get layover if I’m can’t reload the same day. I don’t need the Gov. stepping in and passing laws about how I get paid.
If you don’t like your job, not making enough money, they treat you like dirt, well its real simple, just quit and find a good job.
me says
I’m so ducking sick and tired of having to. Fight and beg for my chech every week. The company I work for are JERKS!! They will do anything they can to cheat drivers out of pay. And then lie and say it’s the drivers fault. And make excuses when they are forced to pay. And botch about paying driver’s. They along with there customers have no mercy for drivers. None what so ever. So no mercy should be shown for trucking companies any where. It’s ducking sad that 95 percent of American truckers have to live for the most part worse then homeless people. I think instead of an hourly wage. I think making an annual income for truckers of no less then $70,000 a year after everything.
For fleet drivers and $140,000 after everything a year for owner oporaters. Would go along ways in safety. At least then we could afford health care. Regular trips to the doctors. Have a better quality of life in General. And be able to provide a better life to our families then poverty. That’s how I feel.
David tickle says
To all that have responded, I am owner operator and I pay more than a company driver makes a week in insurance also I pay payroll tax that you company drivers doesn’t pay and waiting time depends on the client agreement upon contract signing. I pay myself to the point of my company bills versus my personal bills! There is a truck out there for everyone so if u think you have what it takes to be a owner operator then step up to plate! If you drivers want to get paid by the hour but are not sure that you will continue to have a job because laws has a company on a choke hold on pay, you better wake up fast! Government lobbies for major companies are wanting to control you and myself to the point that you and myself aren’t free to make the decisions on the road for safety sake, because the root of all evil is money and that is what big companies have to pay lobbyist in Washington dc! Don’t be greedy and life will go better for ya
Dunn t says
I don’t get the part where guys who want to go 80 mph. Do you have any idea how much fuel you waste going that fast carying 43 tons of weight…. Exactly you have no idea!! The truck going 60mph spends $180 on fuel to do 650 miles trip VS the truck going 80mph spends $295 on fuel to do 700miles trip. It defend on the truck too.. If your truck is 4 years old or more it will cost you twice fuel compared to brand new fightliner. YES you will use small amount of time to get 700 miles done but in realty you have to pay for it. This big companies slown down their truck for reason guy, number one being FUEL and of course sefty(speed volition,csa scores). The big company saves tons of money on fuel while driver killing their hours going 60mph, in turns company tends to pay good for their drivers if your truck is less expense to them. Next time you go 70,80 mph down the freeway ask yourself WHY? If you are company driver and driving 70,80 mph then you should stick with that company the rest of your life because you ain’t paying the fuel so why bother… For o/o slow down bruh the grass isn’t green the other side like it seems.
allen b says
It should be $400 a day.That would eliminate detention and layover pay,which is a joke.
Charles Hanna says
You are exactly right !
Chris says
With e logs there is no excuse not to pay better for our sacrafices out on the road.
Charles Hanna says
It’s not just the trucking companies !
It’s the shippers and recievers that get lower rates because truck drivers are working for free !
The entire system for truckng companies ,shipper and recievers is built around getting the truck drivers to work like an hourly employees for free but only paying them CPM or piecemeal wages so the corporations can be competitive and profitable .
O T R truck drivers should be paid hourly for all of their time with additional per diem for travel exspenses
The drivers are present and responsible for their
work station ( Truck Trailer & Cargo ) even while on mandatory rest breaks !
They can be fired for neglecting those responsibilities but they receive no pay compensation when they have met their responsibilities to their employer
It’s way past time to end the free ride corporations have been getting on the backs of truck drivers
Kerry Robinson says
When is out government gonna look out for us drivers between all the scams they pull on drivers between the pretrip and post trip every day that’s 30 minutes no pay another 30 minutes for the 8 hr break and maybe another 30 minutes at fuel island 7 1/2 hrs a week just in that please senator booker please help us truck drivers get the pay we deserve
Snow Yankee Trucker says
Not good enough. To make the industry safer for both truckers and the motoring public and to eliminate all legalized THEFT from professional drivers then “pay per mile” needs to be outright BANNED and IMMEDIATELY with NO EXCEPTIONS! With this one simple move the industry would become safer “overnight”, legalized THEFT
from drivers would be eliminated, driver shortage would be less of an issue if newcomers knew they weren’t going to have their time and money LEGALLY STOLEN all the from the scum of the industry. This move would benefit everyone, the only ones who would lose would be the “bottom feeding scum” of trucking that currently depend on legalized theft from their drivers who also pollute our highways with their unsafe garbage. So the outcome has many positives with ZERO negatives. WHY has the disgrace of “pay per mile” not been OUTLAWED years ago!?!?
Gracie says
I am in agreement with getting paid by the hour, the problem is how much per hour?
I drive over the road ( long haul ) and that’s all I have ever done in my 14 years of driving, I stay out 2 to 3 months at a time , I don’t have children and I am not married.
I am wondering how they are going to decide on what would be a fair wage per an hour?
John5360 says
I think the speed limit can be governed by GPS. My navigation system knows the speed limit on the road. No reason to have truckers go under the limit. Maybe get an alert that goes to the company and effects your driving record. I totally agree with the pay per hour. Its just not fair. U can’t sit there 8 hours waiting to get loaded then told to drive 600 miles by the morning. I worked for CRST they were horrible. My best checks were 400 dollars. I had a co driver and we drove from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Between the both of us we made 280 dollars. Can u imagine driving cross country for that. Uber drivers make more money. The owners of these companies also run these trucking organizations. Its all about the bottom dollar. CRST is a private owned business. One guy owns the whole thing and he is worth billions. I left the trucking industry because I realized we were being taken advantage of. The company pays per mile because that’s how they get paid. They will never take a loss. I didn’t know it either but CRST had a per diem scam. They said they would pay u less per mile but then add the per diem to your pay. Your check was a little higher but that meant they paid less into pay roll taxes and less into social security. Which means when u retire or get disabled u get less money. I just noticed how little CRST cared about us. We were literally just scum to them. In orientation they gave us bologna sandwiches and chips. That same week John Smith the owner spent 30 million dollars to build a opera house in cedar rapids. Then another 10 million to his sons college. They are pure scum. So many people lost everything working for them.