What are supposed to be the benefits of the new HOS? I see none

"Safety"
more rules so people feel safer around "big dangerous trucks"
Now you'll have a half hour off duty break in the first 8 hours, so you can have a lunch break jut like everyone in a 9-5 job.

"I'm from the government and I'm hear to help" is there really any other explanation needed?

 

The politicians can claim they are doing "something" about highway safety and have another excuse to fine a driver and get more money to spend. And no one will conduct an analysis to see if accident rated actually improved as a result of any news regulations. Just business as usual.

 

Its not about safety its another rule to create a grey area so we don't understand and end up getting a ticket (more$$$ for them)

 

Benefits?

You'll get time for milk 'n cookies during your half hour nappy time every day!

 

Most of these rules have nothing to do with safety. There are a handful of major carriers who want to control this industry. The Teamsters is also guilty of getting involved in these issues. Then there are those groups such as MADD, etc. There should be a requirement that anyone who wants to make changes to the hos should fund a study that they don't control and see if their wants actually make roads safer. I am a strong proponent of totally eliminating the hos. It would save this industry billions of dollars in compliance costs.

 

Guess that depends on your dispatcher... Lol!
many laws are passed, sometimes under the guise of safety, sometimes using other "buzzwords" to get pushed thru. Lots of times backed by large companies/people with a lot to gain by those laws being passed.
In regards to HOS: according to one of the ladies in safety at the company i contract to- you can't be involved with anything to do with the truck while on that half hour break I.e. fueling, involved with the loading/unloading, pretrip, postrip, etc. tho I suppose if you drag around a trailer that doesn't require you to be involved with its contents yu could take a half hr break while someone else loads or unloads it.
If you have a circuit run that doesn't leave time for breaks...well...guess sometimes you'll be taking a 10 hr break 30 min from home :/

 

Think of all the steering wheel holders parked at the fuel island for 30 minutes at a time after their 8 hours of driving is up. The pilot will be backed up into the freeway off ramp!