HOS Fantasy- If you could write the regulation...

In my opinion 11 hrs of driving is plenty in one day but what pisses me off is when shipper and receivers take their sweet time loading and unloading that it screws your whole day/week
For instance this past Wednesday i took a load to Chicago and was told by the broker to be there at 8 am, when i got there i was told im not even on the list to deliver that day at all.
It took them 8 hrs to put me at the dock and 45 min to unload. I lost a load going home because of it and was only given $150 for waiting.
As far as the HOS i would take out that 30 min break, allow to restart when ever you need to and do 16/8 a day

 

Just go back to the originals that worked JUST fine for us all those years......No 34 re set--no 14 hour rule--and everytime you have to sit around a dock doin nothing--clock stops--everytime you have to get up drive 10 mins--go unload and then wait for next load--clock stops...ends most all of the controversy goin on now...

 

Yeah, the senate and whomever, seems focused in the 34 reset provision. It is a waste of time. The primary thing that would eliminate most folks' problems would be the revival of the split sleeper provision. Just do away with the 34 reset. We didn't have it for over 70 years and things were just fine. Split sleeper (of course stopping the clock) and the recap. All that is needed. Usually, the simplest way is the best. Even if the e-log mandate gets fully implemented, this would be better than the stupid 34 reset thing. Heck even leave the 10 hrs break total in place instead of going back to 8 like the past. The split sleeper solves so many issues for so many folks in so many areas of trucking. Just like the old sleeper split provision, have a minimum 2 hr to qualify as part of the split. That would most likely also cover the 30 min break thing we have now. Life would be so much simpler.

 

Easy....in a 24 hour time frame you can drive max of 12 hours, rest must be off duty, should have 2 duty statuses onduty driving and off duty. Eliminate the 30 and 70. Have 2 hours pc time to find place to park past 12 hours but must document date time and place you were and what happened to make u use it, accident etc

 

To me HOS heaven would be if all the FMCSA told drivers is they can never drive during a specific eight-hour portion of the day. The driver chooses which portion it's going to be and then must stick to their choice. I would probably pick 2200 to 0600.

 

I drive when I feel like it.

I'm not picking any specific 8 hours for permanent parking

 

I'd take what we have now, and do away with the 30-minute break and the 14 and 70 hour rules.

 

Can't argue with that line of reasoning. The real HOS heaven would be if the FMCSA's one and only HOS rule said drivers can only drive when they feel like it.

 

Actually when I first wrote this it sounded more like a joke than anything to me, but after giving it some more thought I don't think it's a joke. Codifying into law that drivers "only drive when they feel like it" would probably (a) make our highways safer, (b) make truck driving a more lucrative and attractive occupation, and (c) improve the bottom line of transportation companies. Not only could drivers drive more miles, it would be illegal for companies to force them to drive when they didn't feel like it. Doesn't get any better than that.

 

I wish that congress would go back to approving regulation and actually doing more than look like they have some oversight into these departments or make HOS into a law.