Before the Hours of Service changes took effect on July 1st, carriers and drivers alike worried that the changes would have a negative impact on their businesses. Since they went into effect, those same parties have been claiming that their worries became reality. Now enough time has passed that fleets have gathered specific data that prove their claims.
At the ATA’s Management Conference this past week, numbers were released that showed exactly how much the changes influenced driver productivity. Derek Leathers, the president of Werner Enterprises, claimed that the new HOS rules have cut Werner drivers’ productivity by an average of 2-3%. His team drivers are 6% less productive.
This not only impacts Werner’s bottom line, but has a direct correlation to how many miles truckers are driving, and therefore how much their getting paid.
Steve Gordon, COO for Gordon Trucking didn’t give any specific numbers, but claimed that his drivers have “lost productivity” and that it has been costing his drivers money.
Also voicing their concern were many others including executives from Knight Transportation and J.B. Hunt.
No official word yet on whether these changes are achieving their stated goal of reducing accidents.
Next Story: Trucker Gets 20 Years for Fatal Crash
Source: ttnews, fleetowner
When you have to stop and take a 30, you run that much harder to get where you need to be. So how would that reduce the accident rate?
Not productive are you kidding me? Ye number one reason we’re not productive we have no incentive to work anymore,ye work us 14 hours a day we are exhausted!!! and for very little pay I could of made MORE in the 70’s & 80’s everything is going backwards in this country now its the same old story work more get paid less !!!! I am a local driver and I talk to a lot of drivers same old story the pay suks. But the companies are still making more than ever and lots more dough the problem is nobody gives a flying F about anybody else anymore!!!
None of the changes are geared towards accident reduction. They are all about revenue production.
How many times can the government dip into our pockets before we have had enough.
If reducing accidents is what they want then start ticketing four wheelers for driving like idiots around us and also crack down on truckers who thing riding the bumper of another truck and creating their own dangerous blind spots ….the governemnt can’t even run its self and do the job they are hired to do….they need to worry about getting their business together first instead of screwing up everyone else’s
Dedicated freight is the key here. Logistics will sort this mess out shortly. Uniform usage of Electronic Onboard Recorders will force the change. It is simply a matter of time. The ignorant will continue to scream all the way to the end. Next.
For a small and I mean small percentage you are correct but overall this is what happens consistently when the government gets involved in any business , They screw it up and the people at the bottom feel the pain. If by a huge miracle the large companies could organize a shutdown we would see change
It does irritate me and does take away from my 11 hrs of productive time but I do enjoy and probably need those thirty minute breaks.. My dog and my wife enjoy them anyway! However, just like the 11 hr driving limit, if I could legally do it, I would drive whatever I needed to get freight delivered and worry about being tired later. I run electronic logs, so must run pretty much legally and am usually happy enough to call it quits after a long day, I ran for a lot of years getting the load there and making my logs legal and getting really tired in the process. Now, I drive a truck that takes pretty good care of me and stop when I must legally stop, and am aware that I could make a little more money without the regulations but my life is generally better because of them.
All the companies named use eobr’s. Eobr’s are the biggest problem, above hos changes. Next.
Don’t bother me in the least,just roll with the flow….I been driving for 30 yrs.I like my electronic logs..I like my q’calm..I like the fact I get a 10 hr break…Now I sit down eat a decent meal,take a shower,relax a little,still get a good nights sleep.And guess what…Not a damn thing dispatch can do about it.As far as the 30 minute break,I’m going to stop for restroom break or coffee anyhow.(Take a pause for the cause and fill up the cause for the pause)So theres my 30 minute break.So my advice to one and all,Quit your belly ach’n.. Have a good Day…
Good one Charles. I feel the same as you. I’ve been out here 40 years coast to coast and Canada. I’m 65 now, run electronic log and I just split my 11 hour driving time with 30 or even more. I feel better. I do still say just do away with the recap and let us work the 14 hour day as many days as we want without running out of hours and worrying if we’re going to miss an appointment or, being an O/O, have to turn down a good load.
@Steve Bell – Good post
Well said Steve … I meet drivers every day at the loading or unloading dock sitting waiting for a phone call to back into the door… i always get in trouble because i tend to complain…. For me appointment time is a SAINT… I’m always there … appointment ??? Does not mean anything to anymore to anyone… Only a money maker for large companies… 15 minutes late $250 fee….if you’re on time it takes Five HOURS to get loaded 24 skids … if you’re lucky… i have seen only a few people complaining .
Why do you take such loads? I’m an independent and if I’m at a door more than 2 hours, I get paid detention. I make sure of this because I call the broker when I see that my truck is being delayed and ask for revised confirmation. I’ve never been fined for being late either. If broker refuses, which happens extremely rarely, I tell him that I’m closing my doors and leaving and they can pick up their load at a storage facility nearby after paying delivery and all associated fees. This always gets my detention approved. I have lost a couple of brokers that way, but who wants to deal with such brokers anyway?
Since the new HOS change I was a IC team after the change we saw our weekly revenue drop by 25%-50% due to running expedited freight and having to do this new 34 hr restart rules!
That’s just BS. You don’t have to do 34 hr reset at all. You simply have to make sure that your total hours are no more than 70 in a 8 day period.
Apparently, I am the rookie here, only have 21 years. I have seen 30, and 40 in above comments. My question is, Why do you need a 34 restart? I drove for 15 years without them, and still made money. I used to drive illegal, as all get out. I won’t lie and say I never do now, but it it way, way less often. As far as getting paid for what I do, I do get paid. I have been let go from 3 companies, because after 3 hours in a dock, and bitchin about it, I finally, just pulled out, shut the doors, and left. I own my truck, and trailer, but I am leased to a company, out of Ky. WHen I had a reefer, when I backed into a dock, the reefer went off. I am not advocating for others to do this, it is what I did.
once the cold weather comes in, I think accidents will go up. The half hour break with force drivers to go faster in bad weather, trying to make up for the time lost due to 1/2 hour break.
The rich folks who are making all the big money in any business,or government are ALWAYS makng the claim “We’re broke”!,….and they keep on racking in the big bucks. At the same time…cheat the rest of us to get richer.
My question is why is this costing the drivers money instead of costing the consumer money? If drivers make less, they need to be compensated by higher wages and costs should be passed onto the consumer, right?
As an independent o/o with my own authority, I have not lost any income because of HOS at all. 34 hr reset is a non-issue at all because the important part is not to go over 70 hr in an 8 day period, not the resets. I really never work more than 70 hrs in an 8 day period anyway. As for 30 minute break, don’t tell me that you can’t take 30 minutes off in the first 8 hours on duty. You DO have to go to the bathroom and you DO have to eat. If you can’t follow these rules, you’re working way too much anyway.
Thats cute how u think they care! My cpm up .10 in ten yrs…my annual down $16K. The only thing that hasnt gone down are my BILLS!!!
Its only a non issue if your not getting miles…i almost lost a PA to WA load over the 34. I cud do the 34 but not the 1-5. Im power only. Reset my retirement fromm aug 2023 to aug 2015. Im not. Puppet!!!!
As a flatbed driver many of my days are filled loading and unloading…so let’s be real if I want to make any pay for the day I have to not log these hours. Then I still have to drive…Problem is I’m tired from loading,straping,tarping etc and cant rest since these regulations have me bound. Even if exhausted, sick, of whatever the clocks ticking Im screwed!
All these HOS regs are doing is requiring more drivers to cheat there logs, making them drive even when they know there not ready.
If the people in charge f making all these changes would realy get out and do some real research,they would find out that the accident rate has gone up.Giving drivers less time to do the job they need to do is making a lot of them pay less attention to safe operation.
I’m a local company driver, I get paid by the ld, detention, mileage, loading an unloading pay plus detention…I work 50-60 hrs 5 days a week an gross 900-1200 unless I’m lazy. Break it down to hourly only an its 15-20 an hr or 46-63k a yr, even my very first yr otr i cleared 50k. Wtf are y’all expecting? 20yr pilot for a major airline? 200k. Not gonna happen, we make what we are suppose to make for the job. Mentally it can be draining at times but physically not really. Just fat an lazy people whom are just that lazy don’t make money an complain “we make too little” I hand unload parts to dealerships, work for a living, find a better paying job an stop acting like the “gimme gimme” people you say is putting a damper on yer wallet. Stop company hopping, stop being lazy, an stop complaining an comparing to “the old days.” go along or move along. Goodness such a whiny self centered industry. Y’all picked this field, this is what ya signed up for. Ya know the average leo salarybis 35-44k a yr an they get shot at, have way more regs, laws, an paperwork to deal with, plus they gotta chase people on foot. Firefighters 25-40k, its a love it or leave it industry.
I drove a cab and we had the option of leasing the cab for 12 hours or 24 hours. If i took cab out for 12 i could drive straight for all 12 hours,i could stop and rest,all up to me. Same if I took it out for 24,it was my decision when to rest,when to eat,or not rest at all. I have NEVER heard anyone complaining about cabs causing accidents cause drivers were driving too much. I RARELY see trucks involved in accidents,its always cars and when I do see a truck that has been in a accident its NEVER with another truck,ALWAYS with a car. As a non truck driver I think this HOS rules were a big non-issue. Where is Hoffa when you need him,wish the teamsters could organize ALL otr drivers and we would see a big change in pay for drivers and rules they have to follow
Well duh!! You drive more than 8 hours without stopping to pee?? Take that time to look around you (and Pee). There is life beyond a truck stop and some of it quite beautiful. After 47 years of driving and never running over any one, can’t say I haven’t wanted too, I can say it is possible to make money in this game. I’ve almost always been an O/O running my own authority and like some of the above comments I will pull forward, shut the doors and pull away. It get’s there attention in a big hurry. Appointment time?? If I’ve traveled from Jersy to some wharehouse on the west coast my appointment time is when I show up. I’ll stand in line but don’t tell me it’s not my time! They need the product and you need to get gone so it’s that simple. I feel sorry for all the newbie’s that discover big companies don’t have a computer program or the smarts that can get the trucks back home every week. According to my Insurance broker, 95% of all truck accidents are caused by drivers with less than 2 years in the saddle. Ever hear the DOT mention that? So newbie’s, for what it’s worth, don’t follow to close, slow down and enjoy the ride, and don’t run over the 4 wheelers. And most of all, when your 2 or so years are up, get your own authority, spend the $100,000 for a nice truck and go truck’un
I’m old school and can honestly say I drive way more unsafe hours now than I did in the 70-80’s. If I get tired now and want to take a 3-4 hour rest I am unable to as it cuts into my 11 & or 14 hours available. Smart move FMCSA AND YOU LOBBYIST THAT SIT BEHIND YOUR DESK AND GO HOME AT 4:00PM. HELL EVEN THE POLICEMEN CAN WORK MULTIPLE SHIFTS AND THEY CARRY WEAPONS.
I follow a simple rule for HOS compliance. Log what I do, and DO what I log. Most trips allow me to max my work day at 8.75 hrs. Using the recap, I never run out of hrs. Some trips require more time due to appointment times, and my un-paid waits for loads/unload. If I need to drive 11 hrs. I usually split it 6/5, with a power nap. As to driver income, show me any other job in the country that pays 50k or more without a long list of college degrees in your pocket. As to the comment about passing on rising costs to the consumer; Have you forgotten we’re all paying $2.25 for that loaf of bread that used to be 33 cents ??
Amen
I average 3200 miles a week. Drive in a 65 mph truck. While using elogs, if you THINK a little you can still make good miles. BTW i had my best week a couple weeks ago 4200 miles. And did it without violating my logs.
You know, the only thing I don’t like is the 34 hour rule. But why does everyone make a big deal about taking breaks? I drive for a few hours, and I stop, eat, exercise, nap, or go shopping. I was doing this long before the new HOS rules went into effect and you know what? I still pull over 12,000 miles a month on average and I’m home every week or two. I don’t understand why others make such a big deal about it, as if a break would hurt anything. Like a couple weeks ago for one of my breaks, I went hiking in Marble Canyon. Or another time where I hiked through the Garden of the Gods. I’ve been to the San Diego Zoo, and a few days ago I was in Denver and went to the museum there. And yes, while these breaks took hours, I still made my runs on time and never had a problem. Also, when I make lunch and eat it, it can take about an hour to prepare, eat, and do whatever. So… How is it a problem? Wait, I get it! You people don’t know how to manage your time! I’ve even taken time off to hop on over to Yosemite during one of my breaks. 30 minutes, 10-14 hours, no big deal. I start about the same time every day, and I am never running behind because I “PLAN” my moves well in advance.
What I would like to see is the GOVERMENT make trucking co.’s pay overtime to hourly
employees.
And pay the DRIVER’S state tax,unemployment,workmen’s comp.in the drivers home state of residence.
One of the great problems is government regulation. They don’t do the job you or I do. They make
you’re occupational activities illegal. Criminal Drivers License. I just started for a company where the Safety Manager and my dispatcher have never driven. The SM is a ladder climber out to make
a name for herself. Has trade in trucks setting in the yard with great tires and I asked for a set for the mountains snows. She said it’s more important that the tires go for trade in value. I said the truck dealer isn’t making the deliveries. Fell on deaf ears. The dispatcher can’t understand when I’m out of hours, even on paper…..So how is government by people like these in government ever going to improve the lot of truckers?
Better to take the EOBRs and let the truck set, saving your sanity and health, as people like these
pinchers can be the ruin of your career. Fair Labor Standards Act won’t change unless we make it change. ATA says ruination upon the trucking industry if we are paid by the hour for all our work.
Funny, you can see the left hand and the right , both corrupt, help us ,we are going broke….then
say we are for EOBR’s but won’t pay hourly…..