Editorial: Studying HOS

A memo from the American Transportation Research Institute last week questioning the government’s perceived safety benefits of the hours-of-service rule change likely did not surprise many in trucking.

Since the new, more restrictive restart provision took effect last July, complaints from truckers about hits to productivity have been common. At the same time, so have their questions about whether mandating a 34-hour minimum weekend, including time off from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. on two consecutive days, was improving safety.

In January, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a study that it asked a Washington State University researcher to do on the restart provision. The study found the provision had been useful in combating driver fatigue. At last month’s Mid-America Trucking Show, FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro defended the restart provision and the research that supports it.

However, ATRI said FMCSA’s findings are based on extremely small differences that are difficult to measure.

“The FMCSA study presents findings, but they are built on very, very minute differences. The study makes it sound like they are real differences, but they’re not,” said ATRI President Rebecca Brewster.

Among the issues that ATRI specifically criticized in the study was tracking only 106 drivers over 12 days, because there are 1.6 million heavy-duty drivers. In addition, the study did not take into account the greater chance of an accident because truckers must be on the highways more often during peak traffic times.

FMCSA also claimed drivers get more sleep under the new rule, but ATRI said the improvement was 8.9 hours out of 24, up from 8.8 hours, an increase of six minutes.

“FMCSA has heard loudly and clearly from carriers and drivers that the new rules are not advancing safety and are creating additional stress and fatigue on the part of truck drivers,” said Steve Rush, president of tank truck carrier Carbon Express of Wharton, N.J.

The agency’s job is to regulate the trucking industry, but it also has to do so in a way that is perceived as fair.

While it would be unreasonable to expect the entire industry to be onboard with every action FMCSA takes, we seem to be moving toward an HOS tipping point.

There remains adamant belief — and growing evidence — that the restart provision is significantly damaging the industry.

At the very least, such vehement disagreement about the validity of a study should give FMCSA reason to reopen dialogue on the issue.