Now that the long-awaited Hours Of Service (HOS) reform proposal has been published, officials are seeking comment from the public. But with over a month left to go in the comment period, a trade group that represents large trucking companies is asking for more time to make their case.
The American Trucking Association (ATA) has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to extend the public comment period by 30 days. It appears that they need more time to decide what’s in their members’ best interests and to present a united front.
“ATA is concerned that there will be insufficient time within the current comment period to coordinate with our members and develop comments on this important NPRM,” stated the petition signed by ATA Vice President of Safety Daniel Horvath.
October 7th, the last day to submit comments, falls right in the middle of the ATA’s annual conference. Horvath stated that ATA committees would be meeting during the conference to discuss the proposed rule and get feedback from its members. If the comment period is extended by 30 days, that would give the ATA time to “incorporate this feedback into public comments.”
Regardless of whether the ATA gets the FMCSA to bow to mega-carrier timetables however, truckers are making their voices heard online right now. The public comment period is open and a massive 764 comments have been submitted so far.
You can see comprehensive coverage of the proposed rule here.
Submit your comment to the FMCSA in the Federal Register here.
Every association out there that has anything to do with the trucking companies rules and regulations should not have any say in this matter .( First and foremost their lobbiest not truckers ) secondly if you listen to shippers it’s never their fault that we get held up ( or receiver ) because they don’t want to pay more. Hurts their profit line !!! So if you really want to know how trucking is today. Go ride with a real owner operator !!! There’s no hidden blown out of proportion lies or agenda. It’s all on the owner operator. These big companies really have no idea either because most of their staff have never been in a truck. ELDs hurt the common driver and I don’t care what any of these so called profetionals say ..most of them couldn’t fill out a log book because the moron who trained them got paid more while running so the was their most active training …if you don’t believe me look at how many accidents are out there with rookies and driver’s that went to school instead of old school drivers. Let me know how it all comes out will ya. Thanx jazzmann and I’m out ..
Totally right!!!!!! Say it again.
I am an old school driver and I disagree with the rookies only having accidents. O/Os accidents have really increased. I know how to fill out log books and the problem is HOS, not the ELD. Now, there is no cheating so I guess that would cause a lot of drivers problems. I do agree that the carriers need not have a say because all of them, plus shippers/receivers care only for their profits.
There is a lot of cheating with elds and inspectors dont even know what they are looking at with all the different systems as long as a big red flag isnt being thrown up by the eld its no harm no foul
There’s a truck driving school in Alabama that got shut down and busted for paying off the inspectors to push these drivers through to get their ccdl you got a lot of those people out there that’s not the only trucking school that’s been doing that you got a lot of people that shouldn’t even be out here
I agree with everything you said except for the ELD part. The ELD is merely a recorder. How does it hurt anyone out only records what you do. If you think that the ELD prevents you from doing anything then you are more likely thinking that it’s the rotten hours of service rule that hurt the common driver, to which u would completely agree.
If the HOS rules abolished the 14 hour clock and allowed drivers to split and combine their off duty time, I couldn’t care less if an ELD recorded it.
I am right there with you bro I didn’t think that that I was going to go out of business I was going to hang in there but there’s nothing to hang in there with anymore I think we’re going to go into a recession
Do away with the 30 minute break rule that is the most ridiculous rule there is anybody with common sense is going to stop and take time to eat which is the same thing
Mega-carriers are the main problem. Their business model is what has caused all the over-regulation and the so-called ‘driver shortage’.
The over-regulation also comes from drivers violating the rules. If I read comments on HOS rules that driver demanded change because the current rules force them to drive fatigued…. Or not making enough money…. Nobody can force you to drive fatigued and you’re supposed to stop and take a rest if you’re fatigued. So it’s not the HOS telling you when to sleep, you still call the shots, you just disregard safety for a few extra bucks. And if you don’t make enough money maybe your current employer doesn’t pay you enough? Truckers are the only workers I know that demand to work longer in order to get bigger paychecks…
Nick , you’re so full of it. I don’t know of any trucker demanding longer work hours. You are out of your freaking mind.
He works for FMCSA.
Right on Jim. I couldn’t have said it better.
Absolutely
I say we give them what they want their so we’re worried about the hours Let’s let’s get paid different let’s go by the hour 35 $40 an hour and 8 hour a day work overtime after that and then let’s see everybody else cry
I agree Kevin but there’s no way in hell that I’m staying in a truck stop that much I’ll be bankrupt the prices have extremely went up in all of them
THERE IS NO DRIVER SHORTAGE PEREIOD JIM OMG!!!!!
The driver shortage B.S is a set up by mega carriers to have their way, and get the authorities to approve the proposal of dropping the minimum age required to obtain a CDL. Replace the veteran driver with a rookie high school dropout who doesn’t ask to go home often, some cases maybe never. If you think driving isn’t safe now, just wait and see when these kids get behind the wheel, and to top that, get them in an autonomous truck. All they have to do is fuel up, open, and close the trailer doors at terminals. Way to make America great again.
It’s time for for government to get out of the trucking business and give drivers the flexibility of driving as many hours as they need but make them responsible and accountable for their actions which includes imprisonment if they cause chaos on the highway.
Agreed.
🇺🇸🇺🇸👍👍 I agree 100%
Get rid of the .30 break. TRUCKING isnt for the most part a Union job. Drivers are using their .30 breaks in fuel islands holding up progress of other workers.
Change the 14 hr rule to 16. Reason: companies can take 2 hrs & up to 4 hrs or more to get us loaded or unloaded which eats into our H.O.S rules. We can get rest while being unloaded/loaded.
Personally I would like to do away with e-logs but I know that’s not gonna happen.
I’ve heard many times (E-LOGS makes drivers safer.) Safety begins with the driver not the electronic device.
Safety does begin with the driver . You pilot the truck and should know where youre going and what it takes to get there . We are the most mandated profession out there and we are guilty all the time . We have no recourse or action to take if pulled anything and everything goes on our fmsca scores and its a game of if the tyrannical cop pulls you or a good cop pulls you if you get a tickket. And fmcsa dont care if it takes 6 hour to unload or load thats just less trucks on the road . Why dont we put elogs in 4 wheelers and busses or RVs and make them pull into scales and be mandated ? Just a thought …also wasnt the interstate made for transport of goods and heavy trucks …why are we the ones that have to give up the road ?
We all know that bs even the FMCSA came out and said that they aren’t safer but know one will listen to us I know for a fact there not safer
The mega carriers are trying to drive owner operators and smaller companies out of business by forcing over-regulation and making it financially difficult for the smaller operators to compete
Trucking is going down the drain. Mega carriers could care less. Their CFO’$ cranch the numbers and bingo, I see it every day out there. I am in the process to leave the industry soon rather than to become steering wheel holder!
You know what roger there doing it with the government help it totally SUCKS. But as long as we all allow it there going to keep doing it 1 regulation after another because they know we WON’T do anything about it
You got that right. Plausing your clock will not work. Shippers and receivers will just us up your time. And if it’s late in the day you have bad traffic. Fmcsa is not listening to the driver. Only to the people that have no clue to what drivers go through. Watch the changes they make , that will let you know that are not listening to us. Trucking have gone the drain. Government is the reason. Because they got their nose in something they have no clue to what’s going on out here. Trucking will never be the same.
Well spoken,they are experts at screwing things up bad,they don’t give a fuck about safety,they only give a fuck about control,eld’s and these so called safety measures are making roads a lot “less”,safe,they have a lot of drivers out there,That are just plain stupid or shouldn’t be driving 80,000 lbs rigs down are hwys,a lot of good drivers have left because of overregulation and are broker based system,trucking is a mess because of morons in charge of things.
Nick is a troll not a driver.
Nick is speaking for the Government. Someone that knows absolutely nothing about Trucking.
They want more time is a stalling tactic so the new hos dont get passed! Some guys arguing that shippers will use the 3 hour pause on the 14 hour clock to delay loading drivers is ridiculous! On the contrary it’ll help drivers that already get delayed at shippers or in traffic..because let’s face it the 14 hour clock is a ” killer” for drivers stressing them out and racing to get as much driving time as they can..Ideally drivers with no issues and accidents should nt even have a logbook- common sense is the best logbook! And yeah screw overregulation and all these rules! What other profession has so much regulation?! Without all these unnecessary rules the penpushers in gvt would be unemployed!
Why would my comment be awaiting moderation? Is this America or Iran?!
Devil is a lie! Plause your clock at a shipper or receiver. Then you hit rush hour then what do you do. Not going to work.
Company in a American big,and small are going to go out business. Not to many people want to drive over road. The reasons, driver say can’t get home,you spend more time on road now.no where to park, more accidents, getting pull over by officers ,and make money local.I had my own truck the repairs,fuel being high, fuel taxes, and taxe gone up, foods prices,ect.Trying to run a truck cost to much by putting every body on Elog. When broker getting more,then the who carrying the load.Everybody starting to see Elog for over truckdriver was bad idea.More accidents ,lost renvue,more people don’t want to be on road.
That’s what happens when idiots govern an industry.
I hate the idea of telling everyone that the trucking companies need more drivers, it’s just mega companies just looking to pay 18 yr olds less money and drive out older drivers on an already sinking industry, now we have to worry about computer automation to take over our positions, can’t wait for first fatality by unmanned vehicle to see what that pays to survivors.
I can see a new record high!!!
Obviously. ELD’S HAVE CAUSED MORE PROBLEMS, PARKING, SPEEDING , ACCIDENTS, SOCIALISM HAS BECOME THE BACKBONE OF TRANSPORTATION, DO I NEED TO SAY MORE, READ BETWEEN THE LINES !!!! DICTATORSHIP !!!! UR DNA WILL BE NEXT ON CDL !!!!
If major carriers want a specific policy it is not in a drivers interest.
Of course the ATA Wants More Time they have been trying to get rid of small companies and owner-operators for years so far they have gotten their wish with the ELD mandate I have been driving for almost 35 years I have never heard such a bunch of whiny sniveling young truck drivers out here in all my life they don’t know what it’s like to work!!!! If any one of these big Mega Fleet drivers own equipment they would really have a fit at what’s going on in the industry
Who gives a Rat’s Ash about what the ATA wants! They don’t drive trucks, I do along with many of my friends. It is our VOICE that matters, not some stinking Lobbyist organization for the bloated big trucking companies!
You realize that instead of a 14 hour day you’ll now have an 18 hour day with new regulations….Right? Yes Im tired of over regulation also and would love to see a positive change. A change that a Board of Truck Drivers decides on. Let the Drivers decide and Vote on it!
Agreed.
Flexibility is the key. Different companies do different jobs that require different hours of operation. Day cab, OTR, what’s in the trailer, what kind of trailer or trailers, tankers, hazmat, cargo… areas of operations though the US… State regs vs. feds.. speed limits in different states.. sesonal weather… what I’m saying is let the driver do what is necessary to get it done with safety and accountability… So many different types of driving jobs the require adjusting HOS accordingly.
First of all, that 30 minute break needs to go away. It’s pointless, it makes us work longer in the day and it took 30 min from our 14 hour clock. Second, there new proposal will not work. Stopping your clock for up to 3 hours is a great idea, but I’m sure a lot of drivers won’t sleep in that time, so now there up 17 hours. Not a good play. More accidents will come from this, and more lives lost. Eliminate the 14 hour clock, allow to drive for 10 with a 8 hour rest in sleeper.
6 hrs at the dock to load 4hrs at the dock to unload no wonder their is a driver shortage we are all starving to death waiting
Real simple I’ve been out here 34 yrs..im a small fleet owner 3 truck..my business is doing well because I manage it and I let my drivers take the rest they need..heres my solution to resolve your issues..first it’s a drivers responsibility to plan his load not a clock. Second the shipping and receiving companies need to be governed ..third stop the 30 minutes break because it ties up drivers elogs..last listen to the drivers and stop assuming what you think would be better..until you personally have been out on the road and seen exactly what the true truck drivers deals with daily..thank you for allowing my comments have a blessed day.
FMCSA, tell ATA to go puck themselves. I mean, truck themselves. No, duck themselves. Well, I think you get my message.
The mega carriers are only interested in their bottom line. Talking to the people who actually do the job is the only way to rectify the problem . The politicians in Washing and the CEO s of the megas have no clue to what actually goes on in the real world
Leave the HOS alone ever time we get used to one thing they come along and change it again. All commercial vehicles should have the elf in them and run the Same HOS no reason for a different set of rules for any reason.
Do away with the 14 hour rule completely. Lets the driver stop when he needs without the pressure to keep going for $$$ sake. Once you cumulatively reach 11 hours on duty/drive, you have to take a 10.
Exactly. I been saying that for years. Only thing the 14 hour rule does is force us to drive tired and never gives us a chance to get any real rest. Why it’s a thing is beyond me…
Let’s go back to the 8 hrs.off after11 or 14hrs are up.10 hrs is to long.also let the 14 hr be open to do what needs to be done.
14 hours main need to change let drivers stop when they want to call center opening up for 20 dollars a month to cheat on eld nothing u can do
Just reading the comments here shows just how dumb some people truly are. So many truck driving executives, lawyers, doctors etc; this shows why truck drivers are not being heard. Most of the comments are truly stupid and some even border on ridiculous. About 8 of the comments were berating somebody named Nick. Really, who will take the time to listen to people who can only berate someone else. If you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all. No one has all the correct answers, but no one here has to put down someone else because their opinion differs from yours. Remember, if you have children or plan to have children, they learn by watching and listening to you. Do you really want your child to act the way you do or be better than you?
Hos has just proven it is written by the shippers and consigned.
That foolish 30 min every 8 hrs can be done on duty now ????? What…. why so we don’t have to stop working after we load or unload get back in the seat and go.
16 hrs in case of emergency ?????? What emergancy …… you and i both know that will be used because it took to long to get loaded or unloaded.
It is all just too force us to work longer hrs which lowers our wages.
Want reform pay us by the hr when we’re are at the dock minimum 20$
Over 2 hrs it doubles.
Force is to drive in bad weather or if the driver says fatigued . Driver is no longer at fault for accidents.
Delivery times affected by undue times at the dock forcing drivers to violate hos because we have time schedual, all negative outcomes legally become liable to shipper.
These are just too start.
Get rid of the 70 hour rule.You’re 1 hour from home and you have to take a 34 hour reset because you’ve hit 70 hours.
Someone here already stated that a trucking lobby group should not have any say in this matter. I second that. The only people who should be consulted are the individual drivers themselves.
How about, instead of paid by the mile – paid by the hour for the truck at a fair rate? They want to cut you if you’re late( that’s based on the clock) . That might get shipping/ receiving moving ! Sorry, just thinking.