Letter to the Editor: Rewriting HOS Rule

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n our operation, the federal hours-of-service rules that started in January have only jeopardized the health and safety of our drivers. With the 14-hour rule for total on-duty time and our running multiple stops, our drivers do not feel they have time to eat or take a nap during that stretch because it can cause them to not get their stops done.

The Department of Transportation seems to think that all drivers start out on a 10- or 11-hour run and then have the extra two or three hours to eat or take a power nap. In reality, though, probably 30% of the commercial drivers on our highways don’t just go from Point A to Point B and then go on break. They have extra pickups and drop-offs.

This does not allow them to eat right or rest during a tour of duty. They need to be able to log off duty to do this and not have it count against their 14 hours. Why can’t we go back to the old HOS and maybe make it 18 hours from the time you start and allow 3 or 4 of those hours to be off-duty or sleeper berth time?

Keep the 11 hours of driving and the 10 hours off, and even the fresh 70 hours a week after 34 off. I feel that all drivers would be safer and more alert on our highways than they are today.

Jim Melton

I>Division Fleet Manager

hilips Products Trucking Co.

lkhart, Ind.

This letter appeared in the Oct. 18 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.