Have you heard? New hours of service rules will offer truck drivers a lot more flexibility in how they manage their workday. That\u2019s right, on May 14, the FMCSA published a long-awaited final rule updating the hours of service rules for truck drivers. Trucking companies, truck drivers, and industry advocates all applaud the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The agency has been working on a change for over two years\nnow. While the hours of service rule has been around since\n1937<\/a>, the last major update was not until 2018, when the FMCSA authored an\nadvanced notice of proposed rulemaking to receive public comment on hours of\nservice. They wanted to know how the rule places unnecessary burdens on truck\ndrivers. Eventually, the thought was that there would be changes made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Final Decision<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And as was expected, changes are coming down the pipe. In\nthe end, the FMCSA received over 8,000 comments regarding hours of service.\nThey also held public listening sessions all over the United States. The goal\nwas to get as much feedback as possible so that the expected changes would be\nrelevant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact that the agency received so many responses\nunderscores the desire across the industry for change. Although his will undoubtedly\nwind up in a battle between safety and flexibility, which we will get into\nlater, for now we need to digest these reforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the Secretary of Transportation and others calling American\ntruck drivers heroes over their tireless work keeping the nation\u2019s supply chain\nup-and-running through this tough period. Indeed, they are, so a big change of\nthis kind to hours of service is exactly what they are looking for. Let us look\nat what the key revision changes are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not Everything Makes It<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, not every proposed change made it into the final rule. One change that was proposed last year that did not make it to the final revision was allowing an off-duty break of at least 30 minutes, but no more than 3 hours. This would essentially pause the 14-hour on-duty window, but the truck driver would have to take 10 consecutive hours off-duty at the end of his or her shift. But what would be the purpose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Essentially, this proposal would allow a truck driver to\ntake up to a three-hour break time to wait out rush hour. The key here is that\nthis time would not impact their on-duty time. The agency states they did not\nworry about this because the modified sleeper berth provision addresses it and\nstill allows for a measure of flexibility. A truck driver could use the sleeper\nberth provision time for the same purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agency also tried to address truck driver concerns that\nmotor carriers might feel like they need to pressure drivers, shippers, or\nreceivers to use the break to cover detention time without planning for how or\nwhen the truck driver would receive adequate rest. Still, despite these concerns,\nthe industry has largely come out in favor of this rule change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n American Trucking Associations Chairman Randy Guillot came\nout with a statement saying \u201cNo rule will satisfy everyone, even within our\nindustry, but this one \u2013 crafted with a tremendous amount of input and data \u2013\nis a good example of how by working with stakeholders on all sides, government\ncan craft a rule that simultaneously benefits the industry, specifically\ndrivers, and maintains highway safety. The agency should be commended for their\nefforts and we appreciate their willingness to listen throughout this process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is expected that the new hours of service rule will have\nan implementation date of September 14, 2020. Yet, don\u2019t expect that to be the\nfinal implementation date. Why? Because the hours of service rule has a pretty\ncontentious history. It is quite likely that safety advocacy groups will\nchallenge the final rule in court. Depending on how the courts rule, you could\nsee the rule delayed for who knows how long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Other Side of the Argument<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what is it that the safety advocacy groups are worried\nabout? Well, just ask the Teamsters Union, who put out a press release taking\nissue with the rule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their press release included a statement saying “the\nchanges will further exacerbate the already well-known threat of fatigue among\ncommercial motor vehicle drivers by significantly weakening current HOS and\nelectronic logging device rules. The National Transportation Safety Board has\nrepeatedly cited fatigue as a major contributor to truck crashes and has\nincluded reducing fatigue-related crashes in every edition of its Most Wanted\nList of safety changes since 2016.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Teamsters went on to state that while these changes are\ncalled reforms, they really are changes many big industry interests have fought\nfor. The example they use are local delivery and refuse truck drivers, who are\nrepresented by the Teamsters Union. The short haul exemption would essentially\nopen the door for truck drivers working a 14-hour workday without a break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Truck Safety Coalition and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety came out with a statement offering that when changes are made in the name of \u201cflexibility,\u201d what this really means is that safety is often compromised in the interest of said flexibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, these changes are supported by many truck drivers.\nWith big industry advocates and truck drivers on one side and safety\norganizations on the other, don\u2019t expect this issue to fade quietly int the\nsunset. One possible unknown is the federal government. The current political\nenvironment emphasizes less regulation, so don\u2019t expect the pendulum to seeing\nto far back the other way any time soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more about the final hours of service rule at the FMCSA\u2019s\nwebsite<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"