The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed a pilot program to get data on making trucker rest break time more flexible. The program would allow drivers to split their sleeper time into 6/4 and 5/5 in periods.
FMCSA announced the proposal on Thursday. They are looking for drivers who want to participate in a pilot program. Participants would be able to split their 10 hours of sleeper berth time into two periods.
“FMCSA continues to explore ways to provide flexibility for drivers, while maintaining safety on our roadways,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Wiley Deck. “This proposed pilot program will provide needed data and feedback for the Agency to use now and in the future. Gathering more data on split-sleeper flexibility will benefit all CMV stakeholders. We encourage everyone to review this proposal and provide their public comments.”
During the pilot program, the FMCSA plans to collect data from participants. First, during a baseline period of 90 days to see how drivers are functioning under current rules. Then again while utilizing the more flexible system. Metrics include crashes, safety critical events, fatigue levels, caffeine consumption, duty status, and more.
For more information, read the FMCSA pilot proposal here.
You want to make it safe on the roadways do away with the computer give some of these new drivers more training and let drivers sleep when they’re tired not when the computer says they have to. The way these new driver drive out here half of them shouldn’t even be behind the wheel most of them are taught by somebody that don’t know what they were doing
Exactly if FMCSA has already proved to themselves by studies that these e-logs are not safer they need to do away with them and leave the HOS alone, get rid of the 30 minute break crap we need to all operate on a 7/70week not a 8/70week this would help a lot also and make the req. age25 In which most carriers or companies have set already some allow 23 or 21 but a lot of 25 which is good
Just fyi the age requirement is usually set by the company’s insurance, not the company itself. Of course, they can pay more and use younger drivers, but they get a break for only having older ones.
U urself was once a new driver maybe doing the same, im 35 yrs cdl we all have our moments which is so stupid so lets not knoc the other, I do understand what ur saying
This should have been in the original HOS.
Common sense goes along way!
I brought my 40 yrs. and 4 million accident free miles to an end in 2007. I am 70 now and remember when this so called new sleeper time split Idea was how it was done pre 1995. Thats when the Feds started thinking humans were computers and needed 1 program. We ran on an 8 hr split. 4×4, 5×3, 6×2 and it worked very well. Drivers of today that will try the 10 hr split will DIG IT!! And will see larger paydays. I might come out of retirement. Its about time the Feds removed their heads from their ASS. 2021 just might be the turn a round for drivers, company and O/O. Finding this out just made my day 10/4.
Oh but this is just a pilot program study. Even if it’s great, it would easily be 3-5 years before it’s allowed, due to comment periods and all the red tape.
No no no. This helps carriers not drivers. With the current new changes I working harder and sleeping less. My company has me running on personal conveyance to pickup and deliver. If you want to help drivers get rid of pennies per mile.
If your running PC ti get loaded all to need to do is call the DOT and tell them what you’re being forced to do
You need to document this and get in touch w a labor lawyer and FMCSA. No job is worth yours or others lives.
First of all you are breaking the law so the company you are working for probably isn’t one you need to be at. If you are having to do this. Second we used to do this before the current rules, not eld, third you are not working anymore hours. Manage your time. But good luck to you.
You are doing that. Your company isnt making you do anything. Theres a word you need to learn, “NO”.
Your not listening, NO for us means you lose you’re JOB.
So be it. The company cannot force you to break the law.
Lol I highly doubt your company telling you to do that. Company pays hefty fine it’s no joke.
Trucking is all about fines fines fines
Millennials have no work ethic and feel they should have something for nothing…because they’re special (or so they’ve been told all their short lives).
You need to realize that some millennials are in their late 30’s now. Yes, the youngest are mid 20’s , but people under about 25 are Gen Z. It’s kind of a little thing, but it’s like them calling people in their 40’s “boomer” when we are Gen X. We hate that.
Find a new Carrier and say no. Your logs are your responsibility when dealing with the scale houses. If you are hustling to get the cheddar. That’s on you. Everyone has options on who to work for.
Turn them into DOT.
Dude, this is YOUR choice. If you tell them no and they fire you, get a lawyer. Have some integrity and stand up for yourself (as opposed to just complaining on here). “IF” they are doing what you said, I doubt any change that is talked about in this article, will change your situation any.
Company drivers ain’t drivers your the problem
I definitely agree. Pay by the hour are percentage of load pay.
If you get caught by DOT for using PC to advance a load or operate your truck to go to a pickup you’re going to get a HOS citation and that’s on you, not your company. Just because you’re company tells you to do it that doesn’t mean you should do it. You need to tell them NO and inform that’s a HOS violation, and if they pressure you to do it, it needs to be reported to DOT. It’s called coercion and can result in high fines to the company and possibly can be a civil law suit in which you sue them in which they could be held liable for the coercion of trying to make you perform illegal action.
This is great. Every person does not have the same sleep needs or patterns. Thank you
Drivers that made “adjustment’s” in their logs, to “get er done”, can no longer do that. These adjustments were often made because the HOS rules didn’t fit with the drivers NEED for sleep. If we look at the drivers daily priorities, before and after the ELD, we will see a subtle adjustment, which I believe is at the core of the crash increases. I wish I knew why the “sleeper study” was canceled. We could have gotten a lot of useful data that we could have used today. I would immediately restart this study on a very long term basis. Circadian rhythms of the OTR trucker need to be studied over at least 3 months and at least 1000 drivers. For a quick fix, I suggest immediately implementing a 96 hour rule. When an OTR driver is fresh off a reset, his circadian rhythm will be askew. Well rested and ready to “get er done”, this driver may need a nap 4 hours into his day. Before the ELD, this driver would stop, take his nap, leave his log open and hope for the best. Later, he would add that nap to his next nap,meal,fuel, and shower. This is just one of many scenarios a sleeper study could look at. When I was OTR, this was a common scenario for me(minus the adjustments). Sometimes(often), scheduling would dump me right into the gridlock of rush hour. Your sleeper study would show the best case scenario of what happens when a driver naps, rather than driving into gridlock. I believe the sleeper study was canceled because there is to many scenarios to hold water. This is where the 96 hour rule comes in. In most cases, and the way it’s supposed to work, a driver should be fresh, and ready to “get er done” after completing a reset. This “freshness” obviously deteriorates over time at different speeds, for different reasons. As this “freshness” deteriorates the risk for indecent increases. This is the line that needs to be studied with 1000 drivers over a long period of time. Now back to the quick fix. 96 hours is 4 days. A driver can make a lot of money in 4 days if he is allowed the flexibility to nap when he see’s fit. After 96 hours, normal or special rules can be implemented. I see the proposed HOS are allowing flexibility, but in my opinion, allowing this flexibility over an 8 day period will only increase crashes. It was my experience that after using split sleeper for 4 days, I started to become a shadow of myself using caffeine,sugar,nicotine, and bad carbs, to “get er done”. Because of the levels of these substances in my system, napping did nothing to gain back any “freshness”. There is no logical answer to why a trucker is basically required to use caffeine,sugar,nicotine, and bad carbs, to “get er done”. The 96 hour rule can give a driver an opportunity to get away from substances to stay awake, and simply take a nap, to gain real freshness.
A trucker who (not THAT) uses prior grammar (typo on too, one time), punctuation, writes discernible sentences and makes logical points? You are refreshing and bring a sensible thought to the table. Post more. By the way, who can sleep 8 hours, daily and 10 hours off should be reduced to 8; with a minimum of 6 in the sleeper. Just sayin’
What is prior grammar? Do you mean proper?
I realize not everyone can sleep 10 str8 hrs per day but i would be happy if it were 8 sleeper and 2 off duty..Leave it and not worry about it anymore..
Chances are if you cant sleep the 8hrs there is something else goin on like tv in the truck,new matress req or even a illness of sorts,who knows maybe even to much coffee,sugared drinks..
Honeztly i think any other split than that doesnt help a driver…
I have done the split deal and ended up being ready to go back to bed a short while later so go get your 8 and be rested and productive all day..
If you have to live your day on a dead line. ELDs. You should get an hourly wage plus a per diem. You can hardly drive a 150 miles these days without hitting gridlock on our highways.Drivers getting paid as other people working away from home. Would definitely ensure safer drivers.
About time if they make it a true split brake where you hours at the end of the last part of brake not the mess they have now where you need to be a math genus to figure your time up
It’s fine the way it is…it was fine before the change.
Worse mistake to do this split no way
Why?
This was how things were when I started driving. I have been hoping for a return since they mucked up the rules. Not everybody out here needs the same amount of sleep. Those that dont want to split like this, dont have to, your choice.
Correct. They should use the current HOS data since the abhorrent changes of the 1962 “changes”:
11 hours driving in a 14 hour day after 10 Hour break (break could be split).
I would bet my career that the data would show an increase in “crashes” since the implementation of the restart and mandatory breaks.
Let the driver rest when he needs rest. Give him/her legal footing on breaks and hold the driver responsible to say NO.
Because they legalized marijauna, this is what they came up with, OMG. Thank you FMSCA for looking out for us and our families and true safety measures.
Drivers having the flexibility to stop when they are tired or to avoid higher risk times, like during congested rush hour, and still be able to complete their delivery on time is safer.
Besides the obvious, allowing a tired driver to stop, it would increase retention in the industry. This would lead to a more experienced pool of drivers.
Keep in mind that the current rules encourage tired drivers to continue driving because they are racing against the ticking clock. In order to make delivery on schedule, certain progress must be made before a rest break period.
The proposed changes will allow that rest break to be split. This gives the driver a tool manage fatigue. It’s the way the rules previously worked. C
Having run both, I can say that having the option to split reduces stress, improves rest, removes the rush to beat the ticking clock, and even allows a driver to avoid rush hour traffic.
EXACTLY !!!!!
Just said NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are the boss in that truck not the dispatcher or safety dept., get your sleep & run safe on the highway. If you have a accident or injured somebody (“Kill”) it all on you & you are on your own, the will not help you out!!!!!!!!!!
I forgot to put in my comment’s, the company will not help you out. Company’s needs you & need drivers. Just said NOOOOOOOO! Plenty of truck driving jobs.
SHOW ME WHO CAN SLEEP 10 HOURS.
THE HUMAN FACTOR IS ELIMINATED.
I’M NOT A ROBOT.
A duh fmsca. Lets take a trip around the world from the original HOS rules set 90 years ago. It worked just fine, just to disassemble the rules and “WALLA” this is what we came up with. Millions of dollars and time wasted. WAY TO GO FMCSA. You get a BIG FREAKN gold trophy for participating. And you wonder why theres a driver shortage
The five hour sleeper berth would be perfect for teams could drive 5 rest 5 while co driver is driving less fatigue less fighting to hurry to get done before 10 or 11 hours up
Please veteran drivers. Rip this one apart, like we’ve been doing for past 7 years. FMSCA “AAAH NOW WE GET IT”
Heres your trophy Fmsca
👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑
They going to do what they want to it didn’t matter to drivers what drivers won’t
This would make the E-log as flexible as the schedules we try to meet. THE MOST IMPORTANT thing is being able to stop when you are tired; and not having that rest break ruin your entire week. I haven’t had to dual with an enforcement officer as to how the lack of restrictions of a 14 hr day and combination of split-bunk options fit together but it will be tough with so many options.
If they keep shutting down parking areas any new options will be mute because even if you want to stop you will not be able to.
switching between split options will be a challenge but it will give the flexibility some days require if you are not a dedicated operator, as in same stuff different day. it would, after a time, give you an idea of what capabilities you have. filing it in a ‘legal’ structure instead of just making it fit on paper
I believe that 6-4 or 4-6 for sleeper and 24 for restart should be the most helpful rule for drivers.!!.. Without sacrificing safety.!!..
I am retired driver but I think they should do away with elogs. Let a driver drive and sleep when he needs sleep. I drove for 45 years and I always planned my trips that best worked for me. I had elogs the last couple of years I drove. They were okay but it was better without them.
Big tech money Mr. John. Its in everything
Im not challenging your intelligence sir. Big tech companies using the word “Safe” and “Easier” to sell the product. It has done neither but make society lazy and lack common sense
Sitting like duck for 10 hours is the worst idea in last century.
Split time is the answer and I don’t have to drive tired after watching the computer to tell me when I’m ready and fresh to drive.
So ridiculous
WOW: I put the first comment in here yesterday 1/14/21. I checked it out again on 1/15/21. I found it just like it is on the road 50/50. 50% have brains and 50% do not. One reason your in a truck is to be your own Boss. Now a computer is your Boss. No one knows when you need sleep except YOU. Spliting a 10hr. sleeper berth will be liked by some and those that don’t keep doing what your doing now but having the option to split or not to split is needed. A computer does not know YOU, YOU do. The bigger companies like it the way it is know. They what to keep booking you and that truck tighter & tighter & tighter. NO!
Until the ignorant clowns in the FMCSA realize that it’s the hos rules with the elds, which have never been in the trucks for safety but 100% for money, are the cause of the issues nothing will change. Any HOS rules that tries to fit all of the drivers under 1 rule will never work.
What is prior grammar? Do you mean proper?
Get rid of the 14 hr crap and let people sleep when they’re tired….we all know when that is. That’s the major reason why there are no parking spaces at night, because there is no longer a certain percentage of trucks on the road at all hours. Plan better? Yeah right…..there are 765000 other drivers doing the same planning as you. Unless you’re part of the small minority whose workday doesn’t revolve around appointments you will all be at the same place at the same time.
A prior post complained about being tired and ‘unproductive’ (whatever that is) with less than 8 yours sleep. If that’s your thing go for it. I’ve been out here 40 years and I’m seldom able to sleep more than 6 hours. For any reason. Even at home. We did 5/5 and 6/2 and 5/3 forever back in the old days, so I see no problem with 5/5, 6/4, 7/3, or 8/2 now. Just cut the 14 hour ‘window’ crap and allow 11 hours driving from whenever you start, accompanied by rest as needed.
RIGHT ON DOUGLAS KIRK and JOE and all of you that want the 14 crap gone and the option to split or not to split into LAW. The states like it the way it is now to. They do not need to run their chicken houses 24/7 and more cops are home at night off the clock. But the truck stops get slammed hard at night instead of being able to be at service more evenly through a 24 hr. period. 765,000 trucks parked all at the same time just is not getting IT.
One more and I will shut up: IT is all about CONTROL and how they can run your life with a computer. From 1967 to 1986 I can say I never was on a HOOK. I carried tools and a couple milk crates of this and that, and some parts. I could always get the girl limped in to a shop and off the road and access to food. 1986 rolled around and was able to get a new W-900 with electronics and computer. 6 mos.& I was on my first HOOK.
Before electronic logs, going back about 12 years, I drove otr as an owner operator. I found that driving 5or6 hours then pulling in and going to the sleeper kept me most safe on the road. As soon as I felt tired I just stopped at the next rest area or truck stop and went to sleep. I found that after 5or6 hours I was ready for some rest. Today with electronic logs I find myself having to continue to drive even though I am fatigued because of the hos regulations.
Right on target John. Does any one know what you would really have If you had 20 truck drivers in your basement???? A WHINE CELLER!!!!!!!
I totally agree with you older veterans of the road but, I’m bias , because I’m one also. It’s easy to see that the eld’s didn’t help us drivers much , less time to drive safely ( always in a hurry), more truck traffic during the day , hardly any open spots to park after 19:00-20:00 hrs and after 22:00 – forget it! Now we park most any where we can and its not the better spot to park usually . New and improved don’t mean it’s better, if it isn’t broken – don’t fix it. Most changes nowadays is connected with money , someone or some company stands to make a profit. The older rules may had a few glitches but, they were better than what came about lately . Your captain of the ship and you are responsible for it and you, if you think I’m mistaken, have an infraction out on the road and just see who’s a** is in the sling! For you drivers that let the boss drive the truck from dispatch or brokerage – it’s your baby and your the one that has to rock it! PLEASE USE COMMON SENSE,
David: You and few more that answered the comments on this subject don’t let it eat you guys alive like I let them do to me. I let them get the best of me after 40yrs. and I am pissed at myself for letting it happen. 2007 rolled by and all I could see was it getting worse and it has but I let them get the best of me and instead staying and fighting I gave up and told myself hey you had enough get out now. I feel I let the industry down and a lot of good people along with it. It is a very bad feeling to live with.
Let’s start by having a majority of bureaucrats making these rules, former drivers who actually know what life on the road is like.