Letter to the Editor: Mandatory Shutdown

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he federal hours-of-service rules for drivers have become a problematic issue that has concerned many of us for the last 60-plus years.

hese hours driven are regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, but, in fact, they cannot really be controlled when a driver falsifies his or her logbook.

Such falsification leaves the driver with available hours, but would probably also leave him or her with fatigue and, therefore, unsafe on the road.

This situation would give an edge to a dispatcher to deploy an unsafe driver, not realizing that he or she has falsified his or her log at the time. In this way the driver puts himself at risk just to make more money.

Onboard computers are indeed a good system to regulate hours of service, but they do not stop a driver from driving more than the legal limit. New onboard computers that regulate driving hours should allow the driver plenty of time to get to a safe haven and then shut down the tractor automatically for 10 hours.

Such a device could also be set for a split-break period or tailored to a driver’s specific run with codes that a driver could not change.

Joseph Torres

I>Director of Driver Training

eystone Freight Corp.

orth Bergen, N.J.

This letter appeared in the Oct. 25 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.