On the road again: New long-haul rules for truckers bring mixed reactions
By Curtis McInelly
March 1, 2004 | People rely on trucks more than they realize: everything we own, and everything on the shelves at a store has to be transported by a truck. "Nothing impacts the nation more than trucking," said Lynn Thompson, safety director at L. W. Miller Transportation in Logan.
Freight is as important as elementary education, because we do not have self-sustaining households. If trucks were to go on strike or shut down for just two days, this country would be in chaos and lives would be lost, said Thompson. The store shelves would be empty, production would shut down, and it would be a slow recovery.
Thompson said the public needs to know that Congress is writing regulations that will force more trucks on the road and drive the cost of merchandise up.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), "In 1995, Congress, concerned about the effect of fatigue as a contributing factor in commercial motor vehicle crashes, directed the FMCSA to begin a rulemaking to increase driver alertness and reduce fatigue related incidents."
"In April 2003, FMCSA issued the first significant revision to the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations in over 60 years. The new regulations provide an increased opportunity for drivers to obtain necessary rest and restorative sleep, and at the same time reflect operational realities of motor carrier transportation," according to the FMCSA website.
According to a news release on April 24, 2003, "The old rule allowed 10 hours of driving within a 15-hour on-duty period after eight hours of off-duty time. Also, drivers may not drive after their 15th hour on duty in a workday or after 60 hours on-duty in seven consecutive days or 70 hours on-duty in eight consecutive days.
"The new rules allow drivers to drive 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off-duty. Also, drivers may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on-duty, following 10 hours off-duty. Similar to existing rules, drivers may not drive after being on-duty for 60 hours in a seven-consecutive-day period or 70 hours in an eight-consecutive-day period. This on-duty cycle may be restarted whenever a driver takes at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty."
Jim Larsen, line-haul manager at FedEx Ground in Salt Lake City, said this is actually a compromise -- what legislators were trying to get passed would have crippled the trucking industry.
"The FMCSA estimates the new rule will save up to 75 lives and prevent as many as 1,326 fatigue-related crashes annually. There were an estimated 4,902 truck-related fatalities in traffic crashes in 2002," according to the news release. "In the months preceding the compliance date of January 4, 2004, the FMCSA has worked with its partners and stakeholders to assure a smooth transition to the new regulations."
Thompson said he has been busy in training for the last year. After the proposed rulemaking was introduced in April, it was important to get the information out to the people L. W. Miller Transportation works with and make sure they can work within the new perimeters. He trained his drivers and continued to answer questions, as well as training shippers and customers.
"We have to take care of our drivers and our customers," Thompson said. "We do not sell a product, only a service, we wear out trucks hauling other people's products and providing a service." The new rules are forcing drivers to take time off while away from home and not where they would choose to stop. It is denying them the chance to spend their personal time at home.
"I do not agree at all with the 14 consecutive hour rule," said Thompson. Many drivers spend four to eight hours waiting to get unloaded at a dock, and even though they are resting in the sleeper, it is going against their driving time.
According to Drivers Daily Log, one of the major objectives of the agency in revising the hours of service was to try to force 'over the road' drivers to live on a 24-hour circadian clock, mainly, work 14 hours maximum and rest 10 hours, equaling 24 hours.
It would also eliminate the current situation in which drivers may drive well beyond the 15th hour after coming on-duty. That is why the rule specifically states that off-duty time will not extend the new 14-hour on-duty time limit.
The new 14-hour rule has a twist. FMCSA has defined a duty period as the time between 10-hour off-duty periods. And, any short off-duty periods such as breaks for meals or rest area breaks count against the 14-hour rule.
Larsen said the most negative thing about the new rule is the 14 -hour rule. It used to be 15 hours on duty, but stops for lunch and time logged off duty did not count on that 15. Now everything counts against the 14-hour schedule.
Bob Bono, a truck driver working for Jerke Livestock in Miles City, Mont., said the rules are good, because drivers get more sleep, and bad because they have less driving time, and can't get very far in 11 hours, only 700 miles. There are going to be a lot of drivers going non-stop to get as far as they can before they have to stop for 10 hours, he said.
"It puts more pressure on us to get to our destination, because dock time counts against our driving time, breakdown and fueling stops also count against driving time," said Bono. Each little stop keeps putting trucks further and further behind, and it is hard to catch up. Unloading time at a dock used to be off duty, now it is against drivers. It is logged as off duty, but it counts as part of the 14-hour day.
Thompson said the new 14-hour rule has been the hardest adjustment for drivers.
"Who makes a law that says you're on duty while stopped at a restaurant? Congress and 99 percent of warehouse workers clock out and go off duty for their lunch break," said Len Marchewja, a truck driver from Lethbridge, Alberta, working for H and R Transport.
According to Drivers Daily Log, "It pretty much eliminates the benefits and incentive to use a 'power nap' when a driver gets sleepy during a 'duty period'. Any time not driving will 'eat up' hours in the 14 hour 'duty period', so the incentive (as I see it) is to keep driving even if you are sleepy, since there is no incentive to stop and rest, even if it is for only an hour or so."
Larsen said the 34-hour restart is a positive change for both companies and drivers. After accumulating 34 consecutive hours off duty, a driver has had quality rest and is able to start with a fresh 60/70 hour time clock. It simplifies things because time does not carry over like before.
"I like everything about it, it works perfect for me," said John Paszuk, a truck driver from Canada, working for Farm Fresh Marketing in Jerome, Idaho. "I would run out of total hours, not daily hours. Now I can start fresh after two days off."
Thompson said, loads going to Carthage, Mo., or closer will allow drivers to get back home before taking 34 hours off, but on longer trips the drivers have to take 34 hours off in a strange place before returning home.
"I like the 11 hours driving, but the bad thing is the 10 hours off duty. Who spends 10 hours in the sleeper?" said Marchewja.
"Congress claimed that drivers were not sleeping the full eight hours required by the old rule, because they would fuel, shower and eat. They are not going to sleep the full 10 hours required by the new law, because how much sleep does the human body need," said Thompson. "I get bed sores if I sleep more than five hours, but my wife complains if she doesn't get 10. Everyone is different. I know myself personally, but I don't know everyone else personally."
"Experienced truck drivers that have been living with the current rules for many years, will find that 'sitting' for an extra two to three hours after sleeping seven or eight hours quite irritating and a waste of productive time. An irritated driver out on the Interstate highways will tend to be aggressive, and now has even less incentive to stop and 'nap' will be irritated and sleepy - a deadly combination which will cause more crashes," according to Drivers Daily Log.
The counterproductive note is that drivers must take two more hours rest, which most of us don't sleep 10 hours. It is also extra time that a driver is away from home, said Larsen.
Larsen said that the rules did not affect his drivers much, because FedEx Ground uses mostly team drivers, and they can split their rest time. FedEx Ground also has the trailers preloaded and unloaded without the drivers waiting at a dock. It required some schedule juggling for some drivers, but for some trips the extra hour of driving made it easier to make it to the destination.
"They (Congress) are making it harder for drivers to run illegally, and I am glad to see that," said Thompson.
L. W. Miller Transportation has about 200 trucks between four divisions: livestock, refrigerated, diversified, and a Colorado livestock division. Liquid tanker trucks travel cross country from New York to San Diego, but most of the other deliveries stay west of the Mississippi, said Thompson. Cross-country drivers were not affected much by the new rules, but refrigerated and livestock drivers were affected because the long delays while loading and unloading shortens the time that a driver can drive. This also limits the amount of loads the truck can haul, and is forcing companies to get more trucks to do the same amount of work that fewer trucks could do before.
According to Drivers Daily Log, the new rules result in about 6 percent less driving time in a five-day period. Any loss of driving time (productivity) results in less money for driver and if the motor carrier wants to maintain 'load' carrying capability, the motor carrier will need up to 6 percent more trucks and drivers.
Bono said Jerke Livestock had 15 trucks, but had to add six more to keep up with the same demand.
It is also affecting people in shipping and receiving, because it limits the amount of trucks that can get to a warehouse to unload, because trucks have less driving time and can only make one delivery before they must stop and rest for 10 hours, said Thompson. Loading and unloading time is killing the industry, and when more trucks and drivers must be added, trucking rates go up, which causes the prices of products at the store to go up.
"The whole trucking industry is screaming about it," said Larsen.
"It is ridiculous the way it is, I think it should have been left the way it was," said Marchewja. "It lasted for so long, it couldn't have been too bad."
Larsen said that drivers will eventually learn the new rules, but they have many questions, and the government doesn't give good answers. He said legislation did not think it all through, and some interpretations were way out there, but they have come around.
"It will work, but it won't work real easy real soon," said Thompson.
"It is easy to be negative at this point, but if it makes it safer, I am all for it," said Larsen. "It is a confusing mess, but as they say, 'the jury is still out'."
Thompson said it has not been out long enough to know if companies can do more of less, or if it will be effective.
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