By the time you read this the FMCSA’s latest HOS changes will have gone into effect. This rule change is the culmination of a two-year effort by the agency to relax the hours of service rules for truck drivers. And while there is ongoing debate as to the effect of this rule change, many already contend that it dramatically decreases safety on our nation’s roads and highways.
The fact is this: Truck drivers are good at what they do. No matter what sort of commercial motor vehicle they operate, they do an essential job and keep the supply chain moving. Still, the nature of driving a truck can be dangerous. When you drive up to 11 hours per day, sometimes at night, and cross interstate lines to deliver goods, you can be susceptible to fatigue. Do the new HOS rules increase the chances for fatigue?
What’s the Story?
The NTSB has a specific mission, and that mission is to ensure the safe transportation of goods and the safe operation of passenger vehicles on our nation’s roads and highways. Safety advocates contend that the relaxed HOS rules ignore this mission. This is especially important because this rule change comes at a time when data shows trucking fatalities on the rise in the past few years.
There is a lot of risk involved in driving a big rig, and the risk only begins with the truck driver. You’ve also got everyone else on the road to think about. Trucking companies and federal agencies should be doing everything they can to improve safety and keep fatigue at bay, but some worry the new HOS rule flies in the face of that ethos.
Still, the effort to reduce on-road fatigue involved more than just regulations and policies on the company side. Trucking companies and interested legal parties must take a comprehensive approach to hours of service and fatigue reduction. All the following should be on the table:
- Research
- Education
- Training
- Technology
- Medical treatments
- HOS regulations
- Scheduling policies
- Safety practices
- Route optimization
The FMCSA has come out using language such as “safety-neutral” to describe how the new rule will not adversely impact trucking safety. When the DOT released a press release on the matter, they claimed that the new rule would actually improve safety. Some trucking industry advocates dispute this claim.
The rationale from the FMCSA’s standpoint is that the HOS changes increase flexibility and that truck drivers will be incentivized to stop when they get tired. Some say the problem with that view is that people are generally not very good at self-assessment, and if given the opportunity, will push themselves beyond their limits.
Examining the Changes
The new final HOS rule changes current regulations in several ways. First, it expands the short-haul exception from 100 air miles to 150 air miles. It also increases the allowable duty day from 12 to 14 hours. While this may provide truck drivers with more flexibility, it also allows for trucking companies to take advantage of the rule.
The new rule also expands the driving window in adverse conditions by an additional two hours. For many, this particular change seems inexcusable. If the weather is bad and the truck driver is even more fatigued, should that really be the time to expand driving time?
Truck drivers will also be required to take a 30-minute break after eight hours of driving time – rather than on-duty time. It also allows truck drivers to include on-duty/not driving time as a required break. What does this mean? A truck driver might call loading/unloading break time, but it can be very tiring. If that is the required break time, then will the truck driver be even more fatigued when they re-enter the cab to begin driving?
The sleeper berth exception is also modified in the new rule. It will allow a truck driver to meet the minimum 10-hour off-duty requirement by spending at least seven hours in the berth. A minimum off-duty period of at least three hours outside the berth will also be required. The problem here is that it incentivizes truck drivers to get less sleep by decreasing the requirement.
Economics Versus Safety
Obviously, money matters, but lives matter more. While it is true that truck drivers only get paid when the trucks are driving, their safety and well-being should matter a whole lot more than the next load they are slated to deliver. Dollars versus human lives is never a good equation.
Many interested parties operating in the trucking industry have come out in opposition to the new rule, including the Teamsters Union and other trucking safety organizations. Obviously, trucking companies and union members have a vested interest in full industry employment, but they also understand the importance of maintaining truck driver safety.
It is also important to note that trucking companies who invest in technologies and attempt to address fatigue in their own way often see fewer crashes and fatalities because of truck driver crashes. This shows that companies that invest in fatigue management have better safety outcomes and, in many cases, improved bottom lines.
Walmart is one such example of this. After a fatigued truck driver caused a crash in 2014, the company introduced fatigue management protocols that went far beyond regulatory minimums. As a result, the company saw their bottom line improve along with their safety metrics.
Evaluating a Safety Investment
While some may consider safety investments a cost, they are not. They should be firmly regarded as investments. The very essence of the word is ‘saves.’ A lawsuit from a fatal crash could cost a company tens of millions of dollars. It has put many a trucking company completely out of business. Never mind the relationships damaged from lost business, lost time, and a dinged reputation.
While HOS rules are complex, evaluating fatigue and paying attention to sleep science is not. Trucking companies can manage fatigue through responsible policies and the use of technology. Trucking companies and their truck drivers must take individual and collective responsibility for the safe operation of the commercial motor vehicles under their care.
And while the NTSB has recommended for a long time that the FMCSA tighten enforcement, some say this recent change goes against that ethos. Many want to see greater enforcement in areas such as:
- Sleep apnea screening
- Maximum hours of service polies
- Sleep management programs
- ELDs on all trucks
When it comes to transportation companies, safety should be considered job one. When it comes to injury or loss of life, nothing else should matter. Getting adequate rest – which includes 8 to 9 hours of sleep – reduced fatigue and makes our nation’s roads and highways safer. And like other commercial vehicle drivers, truck drivers must be well rested.
The bottom line is this: Even if a truck driver has successfully driven fatigued for lots of hauls, that does not guarantee that they will be so lucky when they take their next load. Every single truck driver involved in a fatigue-related crash assumed that they were certain they could complete the job safely.
The trucking sector should not be willing to sacrifice safety for a few more miles a day, especially during a time when trucking fatalities are increasing. And with the NTSB having investigated hundreds of fatal trucking accidents, now is the time for interested parties to weigh in. Responsible trucking companies should view the new HOS regulations as nothing more than the bare minimum and should create effective policies to decrease fatigue outside of FMCSA regulations.