We all like the current HOS

Not sure how to handle this ( just another in a long series of "tales of woe" )
I have questions regarding both comments. Are you able to answer questions on behalf of those two authors? Both comments are full of very common problems. How did they legally handle things before ELD? Let me guess...?

 

Before ELD they would just draw pretty lines that would satisfy Mr. DoT. Was that your guess? Yeah, I thought it was.

 

Amazing ain't it?

 

No you did good.

The problem is the peanut gallery buried you.

Trucking has nothing of a organized union or group with the power to enforce 250 a hour. Truckers are disposible. 50 show up in many company orientations who take the pick of the litter and discard the rest.

I am familiar with a 747-200 in virtual flying on computer but I would have a little trouble doing one in real life. Two completely different things. It's not going to happen. And likewise some people would do well never to be in a big truck, particularly when they do stupid stuff with one.

The trucking industry will have to undergo a significant reformation in order to pay drivers very good money. That will not happen any time soon because way too many people show up and think oh .30 a mile OTR cool. Not.

 

You wrote a lot and said bunch but the really important thing that stuck out in my mind was:

"The trucking industry will have to undergo a significant reformation in order to pay drivers very good money. That will not happen any time soon because way too many people show up and think oh .30 a mile OTR cool. Not."

My response to that is... very well said!

 

My question is, how does several breaks during the day equate to a full 6 to 8 hours of sleep that most humans need? I'm not sure that 3 - 2 hour naps = 6 hours of rem sleep. How do we tell the difference between someone who is actually resting in those breaks, and someone who just "logs sleeper" when they hit the dock yards? Don't say it doesn't happen, I've only been reading this forum for about 3 months, and I've seen it actually said several times. But yet, they'll admit that they still have to go in and do paperwork, and move their truck to the dock, and be available to move when their load is ready to go, or even move their truck in a line waiting to get a dock. 10 forced hours off the road, and you're going to rest, most likely, although that too doesn't always happen. Great example - that walmart driver who ran into the comedian and killed someone. He had decided not to sleep during his 10.

Multiple breaks like that are just some ppl's way of jerking the system. It's a way around getting enough sleep to be safe. It's dangerous and bad for the general public. I'm not saying that you, personally, would cheat the system. I'm saying that those "supertruckers" that are complained about daily would definitely use it to game the system.

 

And you all seem to forget this point above all. Without the regulations, there would be companies, not all, but enough, saying "this load needs to be there in 24 hours, so drive all night, and speed to get there". Without the rules they could dock your pay if you don't get there on time. You could lose your license, or your life, for a "load". You could lose your life because that driver runs into you. Your family could die because of "that guy". Without forcing companies to allow you rest, and allow you a break, you wouldn't get it. The government HAS to be involved because people die without some oversight. People are turned into slaves for the industry without oversight. We're not some car driving down the road, who might kill a person or two... we are 80 THOUSAND pounds of DEADLY FORCE IN MOTION. When a truck crashes, it can wipe out SEVERAL cars. They don't drug test class d drivers. They drug test US because we have control of massive deadly forces. There are certain professions that should not be done while drunk, or drugged, or tired. This is one of them. I don't want my doctor drugged out, or too tired. I don't want airplane pilots, or heavy equipment operators, or crane operators, or the workers in any other industry where ppl die if a mistake is made to do those jobs while drugged or drunk or too tired. Math and science have told us the answers. It's up to us to follow the rules that were made for our own good, and for the good of those around us. We are not on those roads alone. It's not just truckers on those roads, who all agree to take this risk. It's all the people that we love who are out there too.

 

I enjoyed your post because it really gets to the intended (for lack of a better term) >>> matter which would seem, is the end goal of 10hrs off. That said, there is the obvious question which looms large regarding carcadian rythem or alteration.
For those whom are not familiar I quote in italics below

"The sleep cycle is an oscillation between the slow-wave and REM phases of sleep. It is sometimes called the ultradian sleep cycle, sleep–dream cycle, or REM-NREM cycle, to distinguish it from the circadian alternation between sleep and wakefulness. In humans this cycle takes 1–2 hours. Wikipedia"

I do NOT pretend to be expert in explaining it, but, in simple layman's terms, it is that cycle that "most" of us know a bed time, which regularly occurs at a pretty regular time each day.

Example: 10 o'clock PM. That time is when you might be accustomed to going to bed.

When a driver is forced to take his 10 hrs off beginning at 10 o'clock in the morning, he is not likely to be able to fall asleep let alone get 6 hrs of Rem sleep. That is where I think the weakness is in mandating sleep. I can well understand how frustrating it is to be wide awake but supposed to be getting 6 hrs of Rem sleep.

 

@MBAngel wrote: "And you all seem to forget this point above all. Without the regulations, there would becompanies, not all, but enough, saying "thisload needs to be there in 24 hours, sodrive all night, and speed to get there".Without the rules they could dock your pay if youdon'tget there on time."

"And you all" .. sanctimony??? WTF??