ATRI Seeks Carrier Input on Hours-of-Service Study

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he American Transportation Research Institute is seeking motor carrier data to measure the effects of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service provision that substantially altered the exception affecting drivers’ ability to split sleeper berth time.

ATRI said it will collect data quarterly in an effort to track changes in driver safety performance and measure it against the overall safety impacts of the HOS rules, which included a more flexible sleeper berth provision.

“Many parts of the trucking industry have expressed concern over the potential safety implications of the new rule,” said Dave Osiecki, American Trucking Associations’ vice president of safety, security and operations.

The data collection effort will be a good opportunity for carriers to share their safety experience and to see how it compares with the previous, more flexible rule, Osiecki said.

ATRI, a not-for-profit research organization research arm of the trucking industry, is an affiliate of ATA.

Information required includes collision and driver injury data from Jan. 1 through March 31 of this year, and data from motor carriers should be submitted by April 30. ATRI will be collecting this same data on a quarterly basis throughout 2006.

Carriers interested in providing data can contact ATRI’s Virginia Dick at 770-432-0628 or vdick@trucking.org.