FMCSA Acting Administrator Jim Mullen announced via Twitter that a final Hours of Service (HOS) reform rule has been sent to the White House for approval. Though the details of the rule are still unknown, Mullen says that the goal has been to increase safety on roads and increase flexibility for drivers.
The tweet was sent out after Mullen’s address to the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) at their annual convention. There Mullen told assembled carrier representatives that the final rule had been submitted on March 2nd to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.
“I am pleased to announce that FMCSA has sent a final rule to OMB for review,” said Mullen. “While I can’t go into the specifics, know that the goal has been to improve safety for all drivers and to increase flexibility for CDL drivers.”
A proposed HOS reform rule was submitted into the Federal Register for public comment back in August of 2019. In the rule, FMCSA proposed changes including getting rid of the mandatory 30-minute rest break, allowing 8/2 or 7/3 sleeper splits, and instituting an on-duty “pause button.” Over 8,000 comments were submitted.
After the proposed rule was published, then Administrator Ray Martinez promised a fast-tracked rulemaking process. It looks like Mullen is hoping to make good on that promise after the delay following Martinez’s unexpected exit.
“At this current stage, OMB will review FMCSA’s final rule proposal, followed by a series of dialogues between OMB and FMCSA,” said ATA’s vice president of safety policy told Transport Topics. “As far as a timeline for the official release of the final rule, it’s speculative at this point, but this movement is a promising indicator that we could see a final rule published by FMCSA in the early part of 2020.”
Source: ttnews, overdrive, fleetowner, truckinginfo, truckersreport, truckersreport
More lying bs by a group of incompetent clowns.
Well said
I’m sure a year from then, we’ll see “new HOS changes causes crashes to increase by 5%, must redact” or something along those lines.
Eliminating that dumb mandatory 30 minute break would make my job much easier. My linehaul route takes about 7 hours 45 minutes round trip and I’m always chasing that damn clock so I don’t have to needlessly sit for 30 minutes
I’m a local driver working intermodal. Having to take that 30 minute break is ABSOLUTELY the worst part of my shift. It’s 100% a waste of time.
You are making your skills, time, money and, life worthless. You’re giving a finite amount of time on this planet and you’re giving to somebody else to cash in on. I’d like to be your boss. You can give your life and money to me.
Never mind. Sorry. I should just mind my own business. If I could delete my comment I would
30 minute rest really? That big of a deal…c’mon….lol
You obviously don’t drive a truck otherwise you would realize how a 30 minute break can set you back. There are plenty of times when we sit around shippers, consignees, fuel islands just twiddling our thumbs… add them up and there’s plenty of break time, we don’t need a mandatory 30 minute break on top.
I agree I can get within 20 mins of my terminal and have to pull over and sit for 30 freaking mins it’s a complete waste of my time!!!!
Just more government control if truckers would stick together and shut down for 7 days and demand the e logs be done away with you would would go back to a more decent less stressful work day. However it is the same old every one for the selves. There is strength in numbers and in the 70 s we shut down and in 3 days we had their attention
I would be happy on the 8/2-7/3 sleeper, the ellimination of the mandatory 30 and up to 3 hour stop the clock period.
They just need to go back to the old way. Get rid of the 14 hour rule completely throw the 30 minute break out. Go back to just an 8 hour break that you can split into two. They can have their extra hour back and give me 10 hours of driving however I feel to use it. Life was easy in the old days. Get held up for 4-5 hours who cares just meant for a long night.
Bus drivers never had to change their HOS they Still follow: 8off-15on-10 drive.
That will never happen. That’s WAY too easy.. those CRASH chickens will have a fit…
I wouldn’t mind going back to it tho. 11 hrs, or even 12 hours driving and 12 hours off would be great.
You said it’s our life was definitely a lot easier
Ya man I’m wit ya trucking ain’t rocket science but the gov is trying to make it so I’ve been in the seat 39 yrs was gonna put a few more in but the hell wit the gov took a perfectly fun job and ruined it like every thing they touch ya bring back the 15 hr deal thanks for ready my bs
I agree with you 100%.. Been tor since 78 & it was much easier then, plus I have no accidents.
Yep I’ve been saying the exact same thing. The old rules prior to 2003 were fine and now that they have the ELD they can monitor and enforce it if they want.
I Totally Agree with you. Things were a lot easier then . Keep the ELD just go back to the way things were !!
We all know the old way was the best way. They won’t go back to the old way because they would be admitting defeat. You know they ain’t gonna do that.
That be good
Yes don’t know why we couldn’t stop the 14-hour clock the old way if you’re coming up the road and you want to stop for 2 hours ago in the restaurant to eat watch little bit TV now you got to shove the food down your throat and then get on your way old dictated To Us by a bunch of desk jockeys
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Amen there getting rid of the automatic would weed out alot of the safety issues on the road as well. We’re sick of seeing drivers with their feet up on the dash watching netflix on their phones while doing 65 mile an hour
Yes Sir , that’s the way to go !
Looking at statistics, trucking accidents were at their all-time highs in the 70s and 80s. In the last 10 years accidents and deaths are at an all time low. As a truck driver, I prefer 14 hours days with breaks when I feel like it. I do not prefer what you call the good old days from your rose tinted glasses.
Pause button is surely something I could live with when a shipper takes 6 hours to freaking load ya.
AMEN !!!
Drivers we are fooling ourselves if we think they are actually going to do something good for truckers.
True….the 14 hour. Workday is slave labor …..its 2020 people.
Thats a fact. The trucking company is whos in control of the driver. We just gonna end up working longer and get paid less.
You are exactly correct! Have been driving for 20 + yrs. So I do remember the good ole days. Paper logs! I Will Amit That there are the pros & cons to the ELD… but more cons!! They will like you said Never do anything Good for Us drivers!! Also… They Really Need to Do their research on how other people drive on the road ways!! Not just trucking! Make A lot stricter laws for people who cut off or cause a trucking accident!
Totally agree
Tired of the insinuation that i’ll be labeled a federal criminal if i go one second over HOS. If the dispatchers computer says i have 11hrs to make 10hr run which ends 60miles north of i-495 north of boston ,and we all know dam well theres going to be traffic and or construction hold ups, how the EFF! , does the customers and companies not realize this can result in violations resulting in the possible or likely revocation of my liscense and ability to make a living
I don’t know of any other industry that has the government FN with them, with this constant rule change BS. This is insanity.
We are going to be driving and working constantly before this is all over. 8/2 and 7/3 splits with no actual break means the only time the truck will actually stop will be to get loaded or unloaded. We will have to beg our dispatchers every time we deficate, eat or shower. I feel a rebellion coming on. Not a collective rebellion, just my own personal rebellion. Bear spray is a wonderful tool of rebellion. So are those Chinese electronic shock sticks, you know the ones I mean, the ones that crackle an electric charge a half inch away from the electrodes. Hit a politician with that after you bear spray the door handles on their car or house and you own them. All non lethal, all very painful. Most politicians can be found at gay bars in D. C. After about 2 a.m. I think maybe a person with no street address and no hope for a future would have a great time shocking balls and spraying bear spray up butts. What’s you think? I can hardly wait to hear those zeeks scream.
I’m with you 100% on the first 1/4 of your comment. The rest I’m not so sure. lol
LMAO! Yea that got pretty damn detailed & curious how he would even know about any gay DC after 2am rendezvous lol.
You may want to see a professional. Lol
I’ve been driving 42 years accident free .I think they should go back to the old old old way drive 8 sleep 8 drive 8 lol.those dumasses on capital hill don’t have a clue the current hos is causing more accidents -putting trucking companies out of business an causing a recession….
Best thing they can do at this point is get the hell out of something they know nothing about. They need to stick to their pencil pushing job. We don’t get into there’s. But if there were no truckers they would not have the fancy office supplies they use everyday in their unproductive jobs.
So true !
I agree with getting rid of the 30 minute break. That is a big problem for me. I stop when my body tells me to take a break and I don’t need a “log” to tell me when “I’m tired”
They didn’t make the hos any better just made it worse
How is more flexibility making it worse ? You don’t have to work extra but don’t stop me,you can take 30 minutes to have lunch but don’t force me to
They better have either done away with the 14-hour rule completely or atleast let us stop the clock for a few hours! That is the most ridiculous & pointless rule I’ve ever heard of. All that does is make drivers go as fast as they possibly can all day long and never pull off to take a nap when they are feeling tired or drowsy. The 70-hour limit needs to be filed away in drawer 13 as well. I can’t believe all the drivers complaining about the 30-minute rest break rule but not even mention the 14! It’s 30 freakin minutes. Just pulling into a truck stop, going in, using bathroom, grabbing a snack, and going out and pulling back onto highway takes 20 minutes minimum right there. There needs to be 8/2, 7/3, 6/4, and 5/5 split sleeper berth options as well. They have us spending wayyyyy too much time in the back of our trucks when we could be rolling down the road…still being completely safe while doing so.
100% I’ll never understand drivers wanting to roll down the road for 11 hrs straight. I want to be able to load/unload, and take 1 hr breakfast lunch and dinner without worrying about my 14.
You don’t get it, not everyone has your schedule. It isn’t about the break, it’s the 3 hrs in, had to fuel, every thing took too long. Ended up with 30 min off, now you need another 30min off before you can stop for the night with rush hour & limited parking ahead of you.
That’s a great point!
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But weren’t they saying it is a on duty pause? Which now takes our 70?
Totally Agree!! Have had done that though but… with a short break to do people stuff!! It’s the point that we are people also, have families, maybe if ya want to say ( a personal life?). I have had jobs where I was Forced to work 16 hrs! Not counting the hr I had to drive to get to work & home!
Stopping that 30 minutes can make you tried for no reason at all.
We won’t know what is in the bill until we pass it. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? We have given our socalled government way to much power over the transportation industry. I’m glad my career is almost finished.
As long as you don’t wreck the casket your driving and they find your body before it stinks up the cab trucking companies could care less about ya!
This is very true, Billy. There are basic components of the truck, engine, transmission, forward and rear axles. And then there’s the driver. If any of them breaks down, just remove and replace. It’s all numbers to them.
That’s the 1 thing that I have Never understood about being on the road for 3-4 weeks at a time!!!? 3-4 days off?? I’ve had it explained to me more time & still don’t get it!! So to me it’s No different than being in the military! Been there done that! You are just spending $ That you shouldn’t be spending! Plus why have a mortgage or rent if you are only going to be there 30 days total in a yr!?
First thing they need do is get rid of these damned electronic log and go back paper.
Personally the FMCA and all the groups, entities, organizational sponges creating/doing nothing but taking money in the name of safety/compliance, are total frauds.
Agreed! How about not only fixing the HOS rules based on input from REAL DRIVERS & wait for it.… educate the general public (non commercial drivers) on trucking limitations as it applies to braking, acceleration, etc…
Also on another note, how about making it more difficult to get a CDL. I’ve seen some absolutely HORRIBLE drivers out there and mostly they were not born in this country. NO HATRED AT ALL. just facts been doing this for 31 years safely. Never before have I seen so much Ill regard for human life.
Rules that won’t apply to the people writing them or any other four-wheeler on the road. Restrictions and limits that only apply to professional drivers trying to make a living.
Not only the 4 wheelers but these people in private motor coaches with a double cab pickup hitched to it with a golf cart in the back of it and a boat hitched to the truck…Where are the rules and endorsment requirements for them?
Agree. That’s what makes no sense to me: Regulate the piss out of drivers, but don’t regulate anything that affects their job.
Stuck in traffic? Too bad.
Spent 6-8 hours at a shipper or receiver? Too bad.
No place to legally park? Too bad.
Well said
Well all I guys realize if we all worked together and shut ALL our trucks down what do u think would happen but everyone is for themselves so stop complaining and take it up the butt we all know what needs done
Over all the old rules was a whole lot better 10 hr drive time 8 conceutive hrs rest time or longer as u desired.we can still use ELD on current HOS as the old rules just eleminate that stupid 14 hr rule
Yep 100% agree. The old rules prior to 2003 were fine.
Well said, THANK YOU!
The 30 minute rule has only extended the day and hours that the driver cannot sleep. It made our days longer for no reason. What the hell can 30 minutes rest do? Only seems to irritate me .
I understand most of the points being made on this topic. Can we agree regulations are put in place because most drivers that are on the road are abusing an already flawed system. Accidents are happening and people are dying. I personally would like to rules to change that fit the type of driving that is being done. Example if your shipper is taking more than (let’s say) 30 minutes to load/unload then a on-duty pause should be implemented. GPS would be able to keep you honest. The 30 minute break rule within 8 hrs. of starting is not a bad rule. However 30 minutes should be given back to the overall drive time. I don’t like the 14 hour rule. However most drivers are greedy and will drive fatigued and that should be a major concern. No matter how you slice it 8/2, 7/3, 5/5. It’s still 10 hours. I propose this (who is for/opposed?) 14.5 hour drive time. Pause DT for loading and unloading (if taking longer than 30 minutes) If after 5 hours of DT (before 8) that pause time can go towards the 30 minute break. Rest period is 8 hours. Reset is 30 hours.
My wife and I operate a small fleet of seven auto transports after 26 years we have seen a lot of changes in regs and it seems like every time the feds mess with his the drivers get less rest and profits go down this might be the first time they actually do something that improves safety and increase incomes for the drivers and small carriers.(god bless and be safe)
Sorry not his hos
ELD make pressure on truck drivers. Computer does not know when I am tired, road conditions, parking spot aviability, traffic jams…etc. Makes me nervous. If you look official statistics you’ll notice that number of semi truck related accidents went up significantly. Solution is : let truck drivers flexible time for driving (similar as it was with paper logs), and connect all weigh stations in the one system.
Sounds good. Not sure what connecting weigh stations is gonna do for us, but, always open to hear new and creative ideas. I don’t stress the ELD thing, that’s because I use paper logs, always have and always will.
My truck is a 1996. It has a newer motor, pre-emissions (no DPF, no DEF, no EGR), a Det 60 Series 12.7, best damn motor yet. The rule of the law is based on the model year of your truck. Anything built before 2000 (and even some 2000’s), the DOT says you DON’T need an ELD. Honestly, you CAN’T have an ELD…there is either nothing to plug it into, or, what is there simply won’t give enough data to the ELD computer to let it’s do it’s job. You don’t HAVE to run an old truck. You can buy a brand new “glider kit” and put in a pre-2K reman or rebuilt motor. Get the best of both worlds, new truck comforts but with no ELD to fool with AND no emissions. No DPF, no DEF, no EGR.
I run on paper logs. Actually, I been using BigRoad on my phone and iPad for over 6 years. I can even set it to know when I am rolling and when I am not so it will automatically log me and my location, much like an ELD will, but, I can go back, make changes and “clean up mistakes” where needed. Personally, I like to do everything in 15 min increments. It is much easier to count that way, so, I usually keep that feature off.
So, I never ever ever sweat about my clock, getting to the next stop, parked etc etc etc. Is my truck state of the art and super cool looking? No. But, it is comfortable, has everything I need, and I still can get over 8 mpg and NO DPF or DEF and never worry about the EGR getting stuck or needing to be replaced.
It sucks if you are forced to drive a newer truck with an ELD. It really really does.
So, there you go, two different ways to get around the problems, both completely legal.
I wish I could do that.most of the issues I have had on my newest,even last few,trucks has been those you mentioned.def issues,sensors,just crap like that. More stuff to break
HELL YEAH. CAN I DRIVE FOR YOU?
Can I work for you PLEASE! PLEASE!PLEASE!
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Well said
Exactly
You got people who have never driven trucks applying rules to our jobs
I feel that if you have obtained a CDL license then you are considered a professional driver and that you should be able to drive safely.It should be up to the person to be able to take a break when needed and NOT affect their drive on duty hours.
They should have never implemented the electronic log anywhere, who is the government to put a tracking device in my own truck, is my truck not theirs, I quit over the road, doing local work without ELD, is my truck, my business and I run it anyway I want, if everybody do like I do they will have to call the army to move the freight or eliminate the ELD, but I know the slaves won’t do that, they will obey, I did not.
They are always wanting to change hours of service which I think its crap.find a good solution and stay with it.i see nothing wrong with electronic logs.if stop by D O T they dont know what they are looking at any way.the biggest hazards is inspections in rest areas and along side hyways should be out lawed and in truck stops .
Just give us a 14 hr clock with a 1hr mandatory break to be taken anytime inside the 9th hour, and a pause button for at least 2 hours for long dock hours at shippers with document verification(b.o.l. number, load number, ect.). That way we got 13 hours to do whatever we gotta do with the loads. Just one clock would be better I think because you wouldn’t have to be stressed over which clock is going to run out first between driving and yard moves and on duty this and on duty that, you got one clock to get it done and I personally believe a lot can be done in 13 hours. Also the 10 hr rest rule should be split depending on your hours worked. You worked 8 hours or less then a 8 hour break is needed, but if you did 9 to 13 hours then the 10 hours is needed. I could be wrong but I think that could work for more than none.
It would be great to have that pause button when you get stuck waiting a load to get you home!
if the ATA is in it its not for truckers its all for big companies that line there pockets I’ve seen more truck wrecks sense the ELD than I have in the last 10 years but lets face it the way they have it set up with the clock not stopping you ether run or lose money and the companies an’t even coming close to the pay we should be getting I didn’t know the we worked in a perfect world and that every trip has no problems. so we just keep getting pushed harder and harder.
HOS rules don’t improve safety. The problem I see as a driver who has been driving 25 yrs is the fact most drivers are not properly trained. Make getting a licence harder to get will solve the safety problem.
I’ve been saying that for years!!!
The 30-minute break is fully needed between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. I do not know everything but in my 35 years of driving that sleepy zone between 4 and 6 am needs a break if you start driving before midnight you need a break at that early time of the morning,,
It dont matter if I start at 3am when that time hits between 5and 6 i have to stop for a 30 min nap. I dont mind only being able to drive 11 hrs in a 24 hr day but I would like to drive the 11 as I feel is fit for my body . Some days i just cant get it together on them days. And far as the 10hr break that should be my time you cant force someone to eat or sleep. That depends on each person and no one knows your body better than you.
Everybody’s body is not the same so that don’t work either. Break need’s to be whenever the driver becomes tired and sleepy at his choice, not forced. Nobody knows when I am sleepy but me.
You as a individual have the right to take a break especially when needed for safety where in the law does it say drivers should be paid for every minute of service o that’s right there is none……
How come every HoS revision benefits the truck owner instead of the man or woman at the wheel of the truck? Ending our FLSA exemption is L-O-N-G overdue. 14 hours a day X five days/ week for drivers that are home daily leaves little time for anything but eat-sleep- drive and a real short weekend. Especially if you work nights.
You are CORRECT!!! That’s why I refuse to drive for anyone but myself. Work as much or as little as I want or need. Maybe I don’t make as much $ as I could, but, I don’t really care. I make way more than I could as a company driver. And, I actually have a life outside my truck and am not stressed at the end of my week. I don’t want to work come Monday? I don’t book a load. If I need to make more money? I stay out and work. I don’t like driving certain regions? No problem. I’ve never driven a semi past the Rockies, NEVER in CA, I stay out of NJ, NYC, and pretty much away from the areas with BIG tolls and lots of traffic. Florida is nice in the winter, so is South Texas. If it’s gonna snow big by me or be sub zero, I either stay HOME or go in a different direction.
There coming after owner operators next that’s what they have wanted all along
My, my.. how times have changed. Unfortunately, not for the better. I am lucky, because I can remember cranking over the big horses (when a 425 Cat was the top-of-the-line, with a 4×4 gear box), in LA, and be in Hunts Point 2 and a half days later…that, my friend, was trucking. I was earning 10 cents a mile as a driver then.
I see $100,000 trucks, more gadgets that a airplane, more rules, laws, and regulation than anyone can comprehend, more damn confusion, and more trucks on the road.., and the damn driver is still the most expendible component in the equation…and the least expensive, because drivers pay is so damn low!! The trucking community pays thru the nose for everything associated with a truck from safety to comfort, but the driver is still paid chicken feed. What it ends up is the guy or gal thats driving the truck is paying the owner for the privilege of driving. TOTAL BS!!
I’ll be 79 yrs old in a few days, and I’m sure glad I don’t have to fight the battle you guys are fighting.
Well said!!
All the rule changes we have had recently has done nothing about the big problem in my mind. Shippers an receivers not getting us in an out in a reasonable time
You hit the nail on the head. Shippers and receivers set the appointment times and can’t meet those times. The driver sits there waiting to be loaded or unloaded or waiting on Bill’s. Who in the world works and takes 7 hours off to sleep then gets up for 3hours to work and then goes back to sleep?
Talk about UN SAFE.
Perhaps if we shut the country down for a week the public would wake up, no food, fuel, clean water, power, goods would make citizens understand truck drivers value.
Of course it won’t happen, there would be marshal law because of it, and drivers would end up in jail or dead, but it would be a powerful message.
Marshall law has nothing to do with it, it’s really no 1 sticks together. ……
The ELD is NOT the problem; it’s the HOS.
True. Truckers have been divided and conquered. We’re conditioned to fight each other, rather than FOR each other. It’s how corporations and politicians keep their foot on our collective necks.
You are Correct!! All we can say is, Come get some!!! Maybe you may Not know how many drivers have a firearm! I do!!! They Cannot Stop Us for protecting ourself!!! It’s Always been a company policy on firearms in truck!! My truck My home away from home Will be protected!! So in saying that let the Government stop us!! We do Need to being this Country to its knees!!! No one Really understands the Need for trucks!!! Some & I Say some people in Big cities Don’t even know where their Goods come from!! That’s Our society is Now!!
The headline of this article SHOULD have been:
“HOS Update: The details of the rule are still unknown!!!”
This is nothing more than click-bait so these guys can sell more ads, show their advertisers that readers ARE interested.
I give this one a solid “F-“
I drove my first truck in 1971 and still at it. How did we do it before CBs, GPS, cell phones or interstates. Yeah, there were a few but most were still being built. If you timed hitting the GW bridge in New York at 7am there was no traffic. I still have my first Midland 23 channel CB i bought in 1976. It was 300. With antennas which was alot of money because a new car was 900.
You do realize Mullen , if we don’t like the crap you guys keep screwing us and our lives with, we can park and go fishing for a few weeks until you realize who is the main artery to this country, hell we can just stop hauling your toilet paper and see how you try wiping your behind , ya we can really play games with your life too, back off and things get better for everyone.
I used to drive3. Sleep 1 or 2. Drive 4 or 5. Take a little cat nap. Drive 3 or 4. Around the clock 7 days a week. No problems at all with on time loads. Except for the federal nanny’s compelling me to log it in a completely business stifling manner. They should leave hard working folks be and focus on the inept schools pumping out drivers who can’t even speak our language.
MOST DRIVERS CAN’T READ ANYTHING,
SO THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING!!!
THE INABLITY FOR A PROFESSIONAL DRIVER TO READ
EVEN AT A 12 YEAR OLD’ LEVEL IS GOING TO GET MUCH WORSE.
HOW MANY OF ALL THE ACCIDENTS INVOLVE A PERSON WHO CANT READ?
LET US SEE THE PERCENTAGE RATE.
Just another problem coming our way. Band aid fix. Will not address the big problems with cheating brokers don’t care shippers and receivers.
So. Much focus on hos so much tax dollars spent on law change for truck drivers. ELD, bluetooth, buzzers, 65 mph cameras. Hasn’t changed anything in making the roads safer. Until they quit mandating truck rules regulations & start focusing on 4 wheels mandating rules. people drive 15 hrs at 80 to 100 mph after working 8hm hrs just to make thier favor tv shows. Just regulating the truck isn’t going to make the roads safer. putting strong regulations on 4 wheels driving like nascar or stunt drivers racing in out of traffic with road rage with brake checks completely not able to merge safely im don’t sure they understand the driving hand of rules of the road. Not using turn signals just cutting off trucks and cars as if were in the way. Focus on that then the hwy will safe
The job is rigged so drivers arent allowed to make that much money. Come on you think the government is going to let you make a lot of money with a job that only requires a high school diploma? Unionize is the only way to increase pay for YOUR time and improve the job. I’m glad I left trucking, I make more money now and am home more often with my kids.
Keep the ELD, make a little button you can press that your company is hanging your job over your head if you don’t keep moving, and let US, you know, the drivers, the people who actually know what the hell out individual bodies are and are not capable of…yeah, US…let US decide when the hell we need a break, nap, or full night’s sleep.
The whole point of the HOS regulations was to keep companies from pushing drivers to keep rolling like robots, popping bennies to keep moving, with the threat of losing their jobs if they didn’t. Drivers were wrecking and claiming that they were tired because their boss was threatening to fire them if they didn’t move. In many cases, this was the truth… HOWEVER… At the same time, society was evolving to the point where nobody owns their own mistakes, and the “I was tired” excuse became the blanket statement for every damn accident involving a big rig.
So yeah, give me my two middle fingers, and the power to hold them up to my employer with impunity, and scrap the rest. Fortunately, I don’t even need the HOS regulations to protect me from being fired. I roll when I want to, I sit when I want to, I can refuse loads going places that I don’t want to go, and they find me a load to El Paso or deadhead me there when I want to go home. So really, HOS regulations are only really necessary for company drivers.
Personally, when it comes to truck wrecks involving 4 wheelers, 90% of the time, it’s the 4 Wheeler’s fault. I think a study should be done in areas where there are prominently placed billboards with ads by ambulance chasers that specialize in crucifying truckers, because my personal observation is that 4 Wheelers tend to drive more like morons around us after seeing one of those billboards. Those billboards should be illegal, because they plant the idea in the 4 Wheeler’s head that making us hit them equals payday.
Hey, Big Brother! Are you listening?! Want safer roads? Try holding ALL drivers to a higher standard of driving instead of just CDL holders! Stop giving non CDL drivers a free pass to drive like idiots around us!
I like my mandatory 30 minute break, more like a hour break. It’s where I take my ritualistic morning nap. Bye Bye morning Rush hour, hello morning nap. There trying to change that, ahhhhh hell nah! Us drivers want a 70hr-7day not a 8 day. Make it 12 hrs of daily drive time, not 11.
Saw a amazon prime,a double and a tanker pass by less than 3 sec. Behind each other in high winds back in Indiana. Guess what happened.
Biggest problem is and will always be the Mega-Companies they are the one pushing all the rules and changes
I To much don’t care about the hour just take the 30 min break away and more money money
Running specialized as an o/o I made my own hos. 12 and 12 which meant I was off duty everyday at the same time which meant sleep at the same time. 12 and 12 equals 24. Don’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. I made my own pic up and delivery times, ran rush hour 1 time a day if that, always had clean clothes and stayed well rested. I paid off my truck in 3 years on a five year loan.
Sad to say but until the monkeys that run the zoo start listening to veteran drivers instead of over educated “specialists and experts” more and more safe and proven drivers are going into other areas like myself. I pull tow away and multitask with a 5500 and make roughly twice the money.
For the record I have been driving since 1986 and have no at fault accidents and no tickets and what I see is too much focus on regulations and not enough focus on actual safety driving down the road. Practical safety is in the hands of the truck driver whether or not he or she can quote the fmsca rule book.
The whole industry needs to be restructured focused on actual operations of the equipment safely instead of a “chicken light” not working.
If It’s All About Safety Why Make A Truck STOP ON THE SHOULDER. CANT MAKE THIS STUFF UP
AND WHERE IS THE PARKING TO TAKE THE 10 OFF???????
You know to win that everyone stop driving for a few days then they will get the message. ………
Should have left the rules the way they were, 10 hours driving 8 hours off and no damn time clock that forced the drivers to keep moving !!!
hey how about this just stay with paper logs you get 14 on duty 11 hours of that for on duty driving and 3 hours to load or unload or traffic you pullover to rest when your 14 runs out or you hit your 11 hours driving witch ever comes first very simple everyone needs to just stop biting and just go back to doing there paper logs the way they were we can fallow there rules do everything by the book it won’t matter because they will change the rules the next year and the next year they have changed these rules so many times that most officers don’t even know what the laws or the rules are hell the people making the laws probably don’t know driving a truck is my job I have a CDL I’ve been in this industry over 20 years I’ve had not one accident in my semi in that time nor have I had more then 4 points on my CDL in 20 years and geuss what!! I was use a paper log and using the 14hr on duty 11hr on duty driving 3hr on duty not driving or do the split in the sleeper most of you know what I’m talking about I’m not changing the way I drive my truck and do my job these people have know clue on what it takes to do my job or drive a truck much less think they know how to make it better and safer for me thanks but no thanks I’ll do my job and drive my truck the way I’ve been doing it for over 20years one day at a time old school you all know what’s right or wrong when your out there driving if you should or should not be driving but like I said none of this shit matters come this time next year the government will change the laws on this matter anyways so be safe out there driver’s hope I didn’t afend to many of you
One more comment about loading and unloading time. Why can’t the government set up a mandatory $20.00 per hour payment to drivers and a mandatory detention time of $80.00 for trucker detention after two hours. This mandatory detention fee should be paid by the shipper/receiver creating the delay. I believe all the excessive delay time would be improved if there is proper manpower to load and unload trucks.
In 24 hours. You have 11 hours to drive. 10 hours to rest. How a trucker does it is nobody’s damn business! Weather it’s eld or paper. Nobody can tell a person when their tired, or need a break. Only the trucker can tell that.
Maybe better monitoring how a company dispatches is more important for safety concerns, than worrying about a trucker managing his/ her time off.
The next time someone says they want government run healthcare just remember how much fun government made trucking when they took that over!
They destroyed good truck driving jobs and before it’s over they will destroy the healthcare system too!
Nothing is free and that includes healthcare! Some guy is paying for it somewhere and if you’re working you’re that guy!
Keep the government out of trucking and healthcare!
“I am pleased to announce that FMCSA has sent a final rule to OMB for review,” said Mullen. “While I can’t go into the specifics, know that the goal has been to improve safety for all drivers and to increase flexibility for CDL drivers
This should tell you how much “public comments” matter. In the end they Enact the rules the ATA and their mega flees pay them to pass. Of course they’ll always figure out a way to stick the word “safety “ in there somewhere, to justify their ridiculous schilling for the big companies.
Basically it comes down to this,
All they have to do is get rid of the stupid, illogical 14 hour rule.
Everything else can stay as far as I’m concerned.
I’ve been driving since 1997 and my biggest issue was paper logs. I only had 1 instance back in 1998 where my log was off by 15 minutes and it put me OOS for 8 hours.
The ELD is fine, it’s one less thing I have to do.
But seeing that clock run down and I’m an hour away from home and my clock is saying I have 30 minutes, well that makes me go a little faster and make decisions that I wouldn’t normally make.
Who ever made up this 14hr hogwash obviously has never drove a truck or for that matter has never been in a truck.
**Here’s what I think**
Keep the eld BUT give it some leeway. Being in violation if it goes over by 1 min is ridiculous.
Get rid of the 14hr rule, this is beyond brain numbing.
Keep the 30 minute break.
I think these 3 things would make me a happy trucker and all other truckers happy.
It would make it safer because it would make a driver more safe by not trying to beat that clock.
Of course these are my opinions, but I’ve been driving a long time and I liked it the way it use to be.
We had fun, we wernt tired.
We could actually stop if we need a break, or lunch or needed to his a bathroom. Can’t do much of that now with the 14hr clock.
Now I gotta haul it to Sacramento from portland..
The reason things continue to get steadily worse is because there is no legal recourse, no legitimate means by which to punish these cretins when they get caught doing shenanigans.
Look into ‘propertarianism’, and the law of reciprocity, folks. John Mark, of ‘Mark My Words’ on YouTube makes so very good videos explaining where we are as a country and society, and where things essentially need to go in order to right the sinking ship and prevent these things from getting this way again.
Take some time out when you can and just listen. Some of it sounds like some bitter medicine, sure, but it all makes sense. Give it a listen. I doubt you’ll be sorry you did.
Yea I don’t need to act like I’m in off duty now when I’m getting loaded
Been big rig driving since 2004.These truckers show incredibly bad judgment…tailgating…cutting I
Off other vehicles…faulty equipment especially tires…DOT sees it all when they pull these killing machines in for inspections…Snow and ice driving…mass extinctions due to excessive speed…do not trust any of these scofflaws…especially minorities…somehow believe someone else will pick up their “stupidity tab”.
Keep the ELD .. get rid of the 30 minute break and the 34 hour reset
I am a widow trucker with a dog and cat that travel with me..when my husband passed in 2016 I lost my soul . The last few years I had ti rely on family to help..I have lost 4 pets since his passing ..because of ELD my pets are forced to live the life you declare for them ..I would like to have the time to get out and run my dog but time is pushed..I have nights of insomnia that I am now forced to run tired..we need to rethink the life of truckers..some of us have no choice..
Hello, of all the comments n complaints that I have read this statement by Mr. Tomas is the most important of all that have been SAID.
Amen brother…. We are not race car drivers…
I’m with ya lance just get read of the 70hr. So of us live out here and that 70hr puts a cap on what we can make. It’s weird back in the day we made less cpm but still not more then we do now. 14hr day fine 11hr drive fine 8/2 or 10hr down ok E.L.D ok less math. But to tell aman/woman that they are only aloud to work X amount of time a week??? For the company drivers tell the company they can “force” a driver to work over X but leave the option for the driver.
What make you run up against the HOS is you. Not planning.I like it just the way it is myself but that me.I plan my route out and where im stoping for 30 and where im shut down for 10. I don’t even look at the clock when i start it i do my thing sometimes when I get loaded i work though my 30 or when i drive i my take my 30 after driving between 7 to 8 hours that im not stuck on the road Where there no place to pull off and i always have a spot to park in sometime i park up 30 to a hour before my drive time is up because how ever long it takes to get one point to the other that how long it takes it doesn’t matter if you park on hour early that way you going leave out the next day a hour early so you not loosing any time. And yes my deliver are there on time every day. So don’t let the company tell you how to drive there not in the truck with you so take a breath and do you. God bless you all out there on the road and safe travels
I think they should throw the 14 our rule out all together. Therefore when a driver spends wasted time at a shipper, cosigner or wherever as long as all that time is not spent on line 3 or 4 the driver will still have his/her remaining drive time out of the 11 hours to still drive. Everyone knows that majority of the time a driver is waiting to get loaded he/she is usually in the sleeper anyways unless it’s a driver unload/load type deal. The old rule from back in the day would work better. Then the eld wouldn’t really be much of a problem. The 14 hour bullcrap is the problem which causes everyone to be in a rush all the time to make every second of their time count towards making money after they’ve lost hours off the that 14 doing nothing