Opinion: Reset the Notion of a 24-Hour Body Clock
A dose of caution is in order, however, as the leaders of our industry collaborate with the DOT on ways to effectively address an issue that so profoundly affects the way much of trucking operates.
DOT would be wise to discard the outdated notion of the “24-hour body clock.” Many have suggested that any new rules should be based on a 24-hour work-rest cycle because humans have an inflexible, immutable internal clock that should not be trifled with. (Never mind the thousands of professionals, including those in medicine and law enforcement, who must work in high-performance situations at various times night and day.)
The theory states that, as humans, our work cycles should coincide with the rising and setting of the sun. That approach worked fine when we were largely an agrarian society. But in today’s constantly moving business world, which runs on “e-commerce” time, we can hardly expect it to be valid.
The fact is, most drivers say they spend time unwinding and attending to off-road matters before going to sleep. Most prefer to stay on the road up to 15 hours, and then have eight to 10 hours of rest.
The world today is much too complex to base public policy on the outdated notion that the human body runs automatically on a 24-hour clock. Consider for a moment the far-reaching ways that our traditional ideas of time have changed.
Technology has permeated every facet of our lives, including transportation. Who among us is not familiar with the term “24-7,” shorthand to describe the growing number of businesses that operate around the clock, seven days a week? In trucking, onboard computers, electronic logging, global tracking and collision avoidance systems are just a few of the innovations that have given drivers the ability to be more efficient and responsive to road demands. They reduce fatigue and extend productivity.
Many vehicles are equipped with spacious, comfortable sleeping compartments. With the ability to customize their vehicles in dozens of ways, drivers convert their rigs to virtual “habitats on wheels” that can accommodate their needs on the road as well as at home. In short, they have become proficient at maximizing their waking hours as well as the hours they rest.
Granted, after a long day on the road, it is important to sleep. Current rules mandate eight hours of rest after a maximum of 15 hours on duty.
Eight to 10 hours should remain the recommended length of rest, but mandating that three hours be taken away from time on duty will not be good for drivers or the industry. Drivers will be punished for maximizing their hours on the road, while businesses will have to hire more drivers and add equipment to maintain current levels of service.
American Trucking Associations calculated that the changes would cost the industry more than $110 billion over 10 years. DOT estimated $3.1 billion. In my opinion, either estimate is far too costly.
As a result of more vehicles and drivers on the road, accident rates can be expected to rise. More pollution and damage to the highways also can be expected.
Businesses today are operating in a global village, where it’s always daytime in some region of the planet. To be competitive in markets overseas, U.S. companies put a premium on speed. Our nation’s manufacturing plants run around the clock. Inventory managers operate on “just-in-time” shipping schedules. Trucking is a vital link in the chain that speeds products to market.
Today, a whopping 87% of the nation’s freight relies on trucking to get it to its destination. More than 9.7 million people are employed in the industry, according to American Trucking Associations. While DOT should be commended for recognizing safety concerns and the need to update outdated regulations, any proposal should foremost be centered on people — and their first-hand experiences as participants in the industry — and not on an outdated model of human behavior.
Intelligent solutions require us to carefully scrutinize the many factors that will form the trends of tomorrow. These include fuel prices, satellites, e-commerce, equipment, truck parking and even demographics of the population.
Just as important, we need to gain a better insight into the working lives of people and seek their invaluable feedback. Driver input must not be ignored.
Only then will we be able to create a useful law that intelligently addresses the issue of driver fatigue and accurately reflects the reality of today’s trucking industry.
Mr. Johnson is founder and president of TrendsPortation, a transportation consulting firm in San Antonio, Texas. Previously, he was an executive with Marriott Distribution Services, where he spent 30 years in organizational development, training and coaching.
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