Tired of the controversy surrounding hours of service for truck drivers? Now that the Department of Transportation’s long-awaited proposal is on the table for everyone to examine, expect even more tooth-gnashing, centering on the scientific research into fatigue that forms the basis for the government’s revisions of the regulations.
DOT is relying heavily on its Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study in explaining the rationale for the changes. The $4.5 million, eight-year study, which was conducted in part by the Trucking Research Institute of American Trucking Associations, concluded that time of day had more effect on an individual’s level of alertness than the amount of work he or she performed in a given period.
As soon as the study was released in 1996, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and other critics immediately labeled it “flawed” because trucking helped conduct the research. The critics also argued that the study was not representative of the great variety of drivers, carriers and operational practices.
DOT countered that the study is “one of the most technologically and logistically complex field research activities concerning commercial motor vehicle drivers ever conducted in either the U.S. or the world.”
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