Opinion: Proposed Hours-of-Service Rules – What’s the Deal?

By Clyde J. Hart Jr.

cting Deputy Administrator

ederal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator

On April 25, the Department of Transportation proposed new rules to ensure that drivers of large trucks and buses have the opportunity to get adequate rest so they can drive safely. The proposed rule will help prevent fatigue-related crashes and thereby save lives and prevent injuries.

Some safety groups express dismay that the department is proposing longer hours, feeling that it may increase the risk of fatigue-related crashes. Trucking industry spokespersons claim that the decrease in drive time would add more trucks to our already crowded highways, threatening the U.S. economy and American jobs. So who is right? What’s the deal?

An estimated 755 fatalities and more than 19,700 injuries occur each year on our nation’s roads because of tired or fatigued commercial truck and bus drivers. Current hours of service rules for commercial drivers date back to a 1937 Interstate Commerce Commission regulation that saw its last revision in 1962, almost 40 years ago. Clearly, a change was needed, and Congress required a change in the 1995 ICC Termination Act.

Does the proposed rule increase or decrease truck and bus drivers’ time behind the wheel? The proposed rule would make four major changes, all focused on providing drivers more rest.

First and most important, the new rules would be science-based (related to fatigue research and sleep cycles) and put all drivers on a 24-hour daily work-rest cycle.

Second, the rules would reduce the total number of hours behind the wheel in a given 24-hour cycle to no more than 12 hours. Under the current rules, a driver could legally be behind the wheel for up to 16 hours in a 24-hour workday, reach the 60-hour on-duty limit in less than 4 days and the 70-hour limit in less than 5 days. Under the proposed rule, the 70-hour limit could not be reached until the end of the 5th day.

The third major change is the amount of time required for drivers to rest at the end of a work week. The proposal calls for a minimum of two consecutive midnight-to-6 a.m. sleep periods. This means a driver would have from 32 to 56 hours off to rest.

Fourth, handwritten logbooks would be eliminated for all drivers, and long-haul and regional drivers (drivers who spend one or more off-duty periods away from their normal work reporting locations) would be required to use electronic on-board recording devices to manage their hours of service.

These proposed changes are expected to improve the quality of life of truck and bus drivers by more closely harmonizing their work schedules with their body clocks. Confusion over drive time and on-duty time would be eliminated, and logbooks would no longer be required.

We estimate the proposed rule would prevent approximately 2,600 crashes, 115 deaths, and 2,995 serious injuries annually, resulting in net benefits of $3.4 billion over the next 10 years.

A large portion of the fatalities and injuries attributed to fatigued commercial drivers are the truck and bus drivers themselves who are killed — in single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crashes.

Industry as well as the public will benefit from reducing these crashes through decreased costs of health care, litigation and carrier liability. The proposed rule would also reduce the paperwork burden on the industry by 39.4 million hours per year.

The public should expect energetic debate from opposing interests before a final rule is issued. In developing this proposal, we held public hearings; reviewed all available research studies, crash data and other analyses; and consulted with all stakeholders. We wanted a rule that was science-based and realistic; a rule that would save lives. We prepared an economic analysis on all the options considered. We believe the proposed rule is sound, but recognize that it is only a proposal. We are actively soliciting comments and alternatives to our proposal so we can use the best available information to develop a final rule.

During the 90-day comment, FMCSA is holding eight public hearings. They will be in Washington D.C. (twice), and in Atlanta, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles and the Springfield, Mass.-Hartford, Conn. area to listen to comments from the public about our proposed rule on hours-of-service for commercial drivers. Comments also may be submitted to us by mail. Address them to the USDOT Docket Facility, Attn: FMCSA-97-2350, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590; or via the Internet, to Mail.Dockettasc.dot.gov.

Safety is our highest priority. It is what guides the Department of Transportation and it is how we are willing to be judged. We at FMCSA are proud of this effort, but we are open to suggestions as how we can arrive at the best possible final rule.