FMCSA Official Defends Hours Rule at NPTC

This story appears in the May 6 print edition of Transport Topics.

CINCINNATI — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s chief safety officer strongly defended changes in driver hours-of-service rules slated to take effect in July, saying they are necessary to reduce exposure to fatigue that can lead to crashes.

“I firmly believe in that rulemaking,” FMCSA’s Jack Van Steenburg said April 30.

He was speaking to more than 1,000 corporate fleet managers and industry vendors at the National Private Truck Council Education Management Conference & Exhibition here.

The new rules will require drivers to take a 30-minute break within eight hours of coming on duty and limits the ability of drivers to restart their workweek after 34 hours off duty unless the time off includes two periods from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

A federal appeals court is reviewing an appeal by American Trucking Associations that seeks to block implementation of the new rules, and FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro recently denied a request by ATA to delay implementation of the new rules until the court rules.

In a brief filed in support of ATA, NPTC and a group of 15 other trade associations representing retailers, snack food companies and other businesses, argued that FMCSA should consider the cost of such regulations on shippers, not only on freight carriers.

Richard Schweitzer, general counsel for NPTC, said fleet managers should “plan on the new rules going into effect as written on July 1.”

“It’s the only prudent thing to do,” Schweitzer said, because it is “not likely” that the rule would be rescinded or sent back to FMCSA for further review.

At the NPTC conference, however, a number of private fleet managers and industry officials expressed concern about the new rules.

NPTC President Gary Petty said the changes will make it more difficult for some fleets to deliver freight with the same number of drivers and trucks, curtailing overall productivity “in the range of 3% to 5%,” while for-hire carriers will see an even greater effect on productivity of about 10%, based on studies by ATA.

Michael Walker, director of transportation for Metal Sales Manufacturing Corp. in Louisville, Ky., said requiring a mandatory 30-minute break might create an incentive for his drivers “to speed up” deliveries in order to complete their routes.

“There should be more flexibility in the rules because there are so many different types of operations,” he said.

Jeff Smith, director of transportation for Gold Medal Bakery in Fall River, Mass., said his drivers already take two 15-minute rest breaks during their workday and said the new 34-hour restart provision is likely to extend time off for some drivers to as many as 50 hours, making it more difficult to meet service requirements.

“We have customer deliveries that have to be made at certain hours,” Smith said.

Tony Jolly, manager of dry transportation operations for General Mills in Minneapolis, said the new rules would reduce the time available to work and the maximum length of haul for some operations.

“The 500-mile day is going to be a thing of the past,” he said.

Helen Stephens, senior director of transportation for Plano, Texas-based Frito-Lay Inc., said the HOS rule changes will force the company to create additional runs and increase the number of drivers needed to deliver products on its 16,000 delivery routes. “We’re trying to determine how to leverage those hours,” she said.

FMCSA’s Van Steenburg said while the new rules will necessitate some changes in operations and scheduling, the agency believes the adjustments ultimately will prove beneficial by reducing the number of fatigue-related crashes.

“Does one size fit all? No,” Van Steenburg said. “But overall, it will mitigate fatigue. We’re very confident in the rule.”