My opinion of proposed regulations .

Discussion in 'Trucking Industry Regulations' started by RickG, Oct 29, 2011.

  1. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    O.K. , here's what I think of the following proposals . Opions of others are welcome .
    Reduce driving hours from 11 to 10 between 10 hour breaks .
    Nothing will be gained here regarding safety . Research has shown that the 11th hour of driving is no more dangerous than the other hours . The most dangerous hour is the FIRST hour . So if a driver is required to drive 53 hours a week he only drives 5 days under the 11 hour rule . Under the 10 hour rule he has to drive a 6th day including a 6th most dangerous first hour .
    Include 2 periods between midnight and 6 a.m. on the 34 hour restart .
    What idiot proposed this ? Trucks run 24/7 and many drivers' schedules include working between midnight and 6 a.m. . Why make them miss a day's work when they are awake anyway ? Also many drivers start in predawn hours to drive through urban areas before rush hour traffic . Why make them start after 6 a.m. and increase congestion and increase the risk of accident ?
    Mandatory 1 hour break after 7 hours driving .
    Totally senseless and ignores 2 major problems in the industry - lack of parking spaces and fuel conservation/emissions . This is especially ridiculous if a driver is only an hour or so from completing a run of less than 9 hours . Why have drivers that don't really need rest stop and occupy space badly needed by drivers running out of hours ? Why waste fuel idling an extra hour ? I think it would be more restful for a driver to just continue on down the road rather than fight traffic getting off and on the highway and try to maneuver around a truck stop or pass through full rest areas trying to find a parking space . The increased interactions with other vehicles exiting and entering the highway , going through intersections to get to a truckstop , and parking at truckstops also increases the risk of accident .
    These asinine proposals are brought to you courtesy of Frank Lautenberg (D , NJ ) the Teamster's politician in their pocket who demanded a review of the HOS . The Teamsters and Public Citizen are like whining , spoiled children who don't get their way . They lost their court suit and appeal but now figure they can buy regulation changes .
     
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  3. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    Are you stating that ALL of these proposals came from one guy?
     
  4. jimfletcher7

    jimfletcher7 Light Load Member

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    I really dont think these proposals will pass. There are studies that show accidents are down. I believe that many of the major companies are fighting this but not in a high profile way because of D.O.T. they dont want their trucks sitting anymore than we want to sit. I hope things stay the same for now. If any changes are needed it the sleeper berth vs the 14hr clock. If a driver is tired he should be able to rest and not have it affect the hos.
     
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  5. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    If these proposals do pass, they are not about safety.

    They are going to be nothing more than revenue generators for the complexity alone.
     
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  6. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    The ones I mention are all new since Lautenberg demanded a review but he wasn't the one that proposed them .
     
  7. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    I certainly hope these die like the last ones they proposed in 2008.
     
  8. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    The FMCSA prohibits driving when fatigued .
    § 392.3Ill or fatigued operator.
    "No driver shall operate a commercial motor vehicle, and a motor carrier shall not require or permit a driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, while the driver's ability or alertness is so impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through fatigue, illness, or any other cause, as to make it unsafe for him/her to begin or continue to operate the commercial motor vehicle. However, in a case of grave emergency where the hazard to occupants of the commercial motor vehicle or other users of the highway would be increased by compliance with this section, the driver may continue to operate the commercial motor vehicle to the nearest place at which that hazard is removed."
    Drivers should be able to rest when fatigued regardless of available hours . They should be able to simply say they can't continue without being in violation of this regulation . We know in the real world though although there would be no direct retribution some dispatchers would penalize the driver with less miles and less desirable loads .
    My carrier tells us to rest if we need to , just to inform them so they can pass the info along to the customer if necessary .
    Wannabes know the requirements of the job . If they can't drive up to 11 hours a day they should choose another career . There still will be times drivers are ill or had interrupted sleep and need a break before completing a run . They shouldn't continue when fatigued .
     
  9. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    Yes , and consideration has to be given on the effect this would have on retraining LEO"s , drivers , changes in training material at CDL schools and making EOBR software obsolete . What would justify this ?
     
  10. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    The last company truck I drove had the quallcom set to monitor hours.

    I told the dispatcher and safety, I was not sleepy at 3 in the afternoon.

    Take your ten hour and leave at 1 in the morning.

    I laid in the truck for hours. Fell asleep at 11. Got up at 12:30 and drove my hours.

    I was not rested. But the machine and safety said I was.

    Brought up the intent of the rules and the circadian rhythm. They were not interested.
     
  11. Cowpie1

    Cowpie1 Road Train Member

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    Well, if you would download the proposed rule from FMCSA, you would see there is a slight flaw in some of what you say.

    The so-called mandatory 1 hr break after 7 hrs driving. Well, I suppose there are some that stay moving, in the seat for 7 hrs straight, but not many. As long as CUMULATIVE breaks in 7 hr driving add up to one hr, that satisfies the reg. Most will stop a couple of times in the 7 hrs of driving, for at least 15 min. Maybe because I am older, I am not comfortable with a full 7 hrs behind the wheel without at least stretching my legs and taking a squirt. And besides, sitting in one position for 7 hrs is not healthy. Stop a couple of times in that 7 hrs driving for 30 minutes at a time, and problem solved.

    11 hrs down to 10 hrs. That is not part of the proposal, but only a comment in the proposal that FMCSA is looking at moving that direction. You are right that 11th hr no more unsafe. Since most drivers drive at least a couple hrs in a day, that is why the stats show the first couple of hours are the most unsafe. Bureaucrats have a hard time with facts.

    Lets take a closer look at the 34 hr reset and the 2 midnight to 0600 provisions. There is no requirement to ever reset! For almost 70 years, drivers ran as they picked up hours on the recap. Most of my career was done that way. Now, if a driver starts on Monday morn, they can work over 13 hrs a day (which only a few actually log on paper or EOBR), once they reach the 70, they can reset. The reset can only begin 7days after the START of the last reset. One can easily fit 70 hrs into a week and get a reset and move on. Sure, just like using EOBR, it will require a driver to plan runs and manage time more, but not the apocalyptic problem that some seem to believe. By managing one's time and planning runs right, you can operate almost every day of the week, year round and never use a reset provision.

    I think the proposal is not needed, and is nothing more than political. But once one really analyzes the details, it isn't that terrible. It rewords a lot of stuff, but really doesn't change things that much. Drivers are just afraid of change. Instead, they should find ways to make any new regulation work in their favor. Maybe even change their operating area (like I did a decade ago) so that proposals like this have a smaller negative effect. By all means, contact your legislators and try to get them to convince the FMCSA to not implement the proposed rule. But if that fails, the sky will not fall and the end of civilization is not at hand. What is truly sad is that for almost 70 years we ran fine on one set of regs. Since 2003, we are up to 3 changes in the rules.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2011
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