Reform of the 65-year-old rules governing how long interstate truckers can drive has been the subject of heated discussion for years — among regulators, lawmakers, safety advocates and industry officials — but it wasn’t until 1999 that there was significant movement on the issue.
Finally, after many delays and a good deal of sparring among the players, the Department of Transportation sent its hours-of-service proposal to the White House on Dec. 3, where it awaits review by the Office of Management and Budget.
The proposed rule, according to industry sources, would mandate a 14-10 schedule — 14 hours on-duty (with no distinction between driving and other work, such as loading and unloading) and 10 hours off, based on a 24-hour clock, with two hours of break time for each on-duty shift.
American Trucking Associations said this would amount to a 20% cut in the amount of time a driver can work in a day (including both driving and non-driving work time) — from today’s 15 or more hours down to 12 hours – and a 25% increase in amount of time a driver must be off-duty in a day—from today’s 8 consecutive hours up to 10 consecutive hours.
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