Opinion: A Call to Arms on Hours Reform

By Donald Schneider

resident of Schneider National Inc.

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b>Gerald Detter

resident of Con-Way Transportation Services

Donald Schneider Gerald Detter

Trucking faces a number of challenges today — most emanating from Washington — that threaten the foundation of our industry, from diesel fuel prices and emissions standards to proposed ergonomics regulations and state weight-distance taxes. But on no issue are the stakes higher than they are right now on the battle over reform of truck driver hours of service.

It is clear to many in the trucking industry that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s heavy-handed and misguided proposal would actually put more trucks on America’s already clogged roads and more drivers with less experience behind the wheel. If enacted, this plan would force a significant step back for highway safety and threaten the steady and dramatic improvement this industry has made in its safety record over the past 10 years.

Yet in the fog of sweeping promises and lofty rhetoric, few outside of trucking can see the danger of DOT’s scheme. We in the trucking community need to stand together to continue waging a strong national grass-roots campaign of truth – a campaign that makes clear that highway safety is the top priority for those who make their living on America’s roads. In this campaign, we need to point out that American Trucking Associations has worked with leading scientists in the field to put forth a proposal that can actually deliver safer roads.

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Most importantly, the trucking community has to understand that this campaign of truth has to be waged not over the next several months, but in the next several days and weeks. Why? Because ATA, in its June leadership meeting, was put on notice that DOT plans to take off the gloves in an all-out attempt to railroad through a final rule before the Clinton administration ends in January.

Fortunately, several members of Congress see through this transparent attempt to short-circuit the normal rulemaking process. They understand what is really at stake in this debate, and they support language in the DOT appropriations bill — put forward by Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama — that would bar DOT from finalizing its rule.

As members of Congress return to their districts for the summer recess, it is imperative that they hear from their trucking constituents. They need to hear that safety is the top priority for those whose “offices” are the open road. They also need to hear about the real impact of this DOT scheme: an estimated 100,000 more trucks on our highways and the unacceptable choice between dramatically decreased capacity or dramatically decreased driver quality due to today’s acute shortage of qualified drivers.

The truth, pure and simple, is that this DOT plan would set back highway safety while imperiling the just-in-time delivery system that moves today’s “click-and-ship” economy. It is a lose-lose proposition. Whether we drive a truck, a sport utility vehicle or a moped, all Americans deserve better from their government when it comes to highway safety.

For years, ATA has worked to advance the cause of real hours-of-service reform. We have a strong proposal, developed in partnership with some of the top sleep scientists in the country. Our plan increases the mandatory “time-out” period from eight hours to 10 hours, so drivers can get adequate rest. It also delivers flexibility, so drivers can adapt to weather, traffic and loading delays, get home to their families and deliver vital goods to the 70% of U.S. communities that rely solely on trucking for their shipments. Only ATA’s plan passes the true litmus test for real reform. It alone can deliver safer roads.

Today, our nation has a choice. It is not a choice, as our critics make it out to be, between those who favor highway safety and those who oppose it. It is a choice between a bad proposal that would set back highway safety and stall our economy and a strong, credible proposal — based on sound science — that would advance highway safety and preserve the tremendous efficiencies delivered to our economy by truck.

Without question, the fight over hours of service fight is turning into a “battle royale.” It is a battle our industry cannot afford to lose, and these summer months are “crunch time.” It is time we stand together as one industry and stand up for real hours reform.

Victory will require an “all-hands-on-deck” effort. We need the entire trucking community to get involved.

The ATA Web site at www.truckline.com is full of information and ideas about what you can do. In addition to talking to our members of Congress, there are two more public hearings on the DOT plan — one in Atlanta and one in Washington, D.C. — where we need a strong showing. You also can send comments to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration.

But the most important thing you can do right now is to reach out to your state delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Let them know that there is a line in the sand and you are watching where they stand. Let your member of Congress know that you want them to sign the bipartisan letter being circulated by Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio and Rep. Bob Clement of Tennessee that urges the House to support Sen. Shelby’s efforts to stop DOT’s plan. Let them know that a stand for a strong economy and for improved highway safety is a stand with the men and women of American trucking against this regulatory end-run that would put safety, our economy and a vital U.S. industry at risk.

Donald Schneider and Gerald Detter are co-chairmen of the Trucking Executives Leadership Council.