Opinion: HOS’ Safety Benefits Hang in the Balance
By Bill Graves
President and Chief Executive Officer
American Trucking Associations
This Opinion piece appears in the Sept. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
A court decision vacating two aspects of the regulations that determine the work hours of professional truck drivers could erase a rule that contributed to a 4.7% decline in large-truck-related crash deaths in 2006 — unless cooler heads prevail. Unfortunately, reactions to the court decision have been uninformed and narrowly focused on a single aspect of the regulations.
The federal government established hours-of-service rules more than 60 years ago to set a national standard for driver work-day limits and minimum rest levels. In January 2004, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration updated those rules at the behest of Congress to better align the rules with our current knowledge of sleep science.
For our professional drivers, the updated rules meant safer highways. They linked driver alertness, safety and the business of “delivering America” on time.
In July, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that FMCSA must provide better justification for adopting two provisions governing driver work and rest time. These provisions set maximum driving time at 11 hours per shift and allowed truck drivers the ability to restart their work week after at least 34 consecutive hours of rest.
Under the current rules, the allowed driving time was increased by one hour to a total of 11 hours, which critics fixate upon. Left unsaid in the criticism of the 11-hour driving rule is that while driving was increased one hour, mandatory rest time was increased two hours, and the overall length of a work shift was reduced by an hour or more. Critics should consider the totality of the regulations and their effects, rather than focus on a single change.
Currently, drivers must take at least 10 hours of rest between every work shift — an increase of two hours of rest from the old rules. And work shifts are now capped at 14 consecutive hours, reduced from the previous 15 hours, which were not consecutive and could be stopped and started throughout a lengthy shift.
Under the current rules, drivers also are permitted to “restart” their work week after being off duty for at least 34 consecutive hours. This promotes a more regular work-rest cycle for drivers. Unfortunately, the U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling actually will eliminate the ability to restart the driver’s clock after 34 consecutive hours of rest.
Without it, truck drivers are more likely to have irregular work schedules, which will cause more fatigue. Many of the truck drivers we have heard from favor the voluntary 34-hour restart because it encourages drivers to take a break long enough to become fully rested, yet it also allows their driving schedule to coexist with natural sleep rhythms.
Contrary to statements made by truck industry critics, the court’s ruling was procedural in nature. It is misleading to suggest, as some have, that the legal decision serves as evidence that the HOS regulations promulgated in 2005 are unsafe.
For its part, American Trucking Associations is seeking a stay from the court to keep the current rules in place to allow FMCSA to address the procedural flaws that were identified. ATA also has asked Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters to push for a stay of the Court of Appeals ruling, as there was no compelling safety reason to eliminate the two provisions the court challenged.
The transition to the current HOS rules required significant operational changes and challenges for the trucking industry. Similarly, shifting gears would force motor carriers to retrain millions of drivers and undo technological changes they have made to accommodate the current rules. At the same time, enforcement of the hours-of-service regulations would be disrupted, as police are required to retrain for the new rules.
In the past year, the rules have contributed to enhanced truck safety. Statistics bear this out. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently issued its truck-involved fatality figures for 2006. The number of fatalities declined by 4.7% from 2005 to 2006, the largest drop in 14 years. The fatality rate is now at its lowest point ever. These facts speak volumes.
Furthermore, a study by the American Transportation Research Institute found that most drivers experienced less fatigue and preferred the 11 hours driving, 10 hours off and 34-hour restart provisions. The motor carrier industry and ATA’s members understand their responsibility to the motoring public and the competitive advantage of operating safely and securely.
Bill Graves is a former two-term governor of Kansas. ATA is a national trade association for the trucking industry with headquarters in Arlington, Va., and affiliated associations in every state. ATA owns Transport Topics Publishing Group.
