The fox regulating the chicken coop? There are more than 5,000 fatal truck accidents every year or about 15 people die each day, every day.
A new regulation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration – FMCSA – reduces by 12 hours the maximum time a truck driver can work within a week. Under the old rule, truck drivers could work on average up to 82 hours within a seven-day period. The new HOS or hours-of-service final rule limits a driver’s work week to 70 hours.
In what looks to be a controversial bow to business interests, the final rule keeps the current 11-hour daily driving limit. FMCSA said it will continue to analyze data to examine any risks associated with 11 hours of driving time.
In addition, truck drivers cannot drive after working eight hours without first taking a break of at least 30 minutes. Drivers can take the 30-minute break whenever they need rest during the eight-hour window, according to the Federal regulatory agency, which is part of the $80-billion annual budget of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Critics have contended since 2003 that this Bush Administration regulation, which increased driver hours, was bad policy that would lead to more accidents and fatalities. The revised regulation does not go into effect until 1 July 2013.
“This final rule is the culmination of the most extensive and transparent public outreach effort in our agency’s history,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “With robust input from all areas of the trucking community, coupled with the latest scientific research, we carefully crafted a rule acknowledging that when truckers are rested, alert and focused on safety, it makes our roadways safer.”
Ferro, an Obama Administration appointee, is former trucking association executive and lobbyist. Prior to her appointment as the head of truck safety at the Department of Transportation, Ferro was president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association for six years. Moreover, the association supported the Bush Administration increase in driver hours.
The latest rule also requires truck drivers who maximize their weekly work hours to take at least two nights’ rest when their 24-hour body clock demands sleep the most – from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. This rest requirement is part of the rule’s “34-hour restart” provision that allows drivers to restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. The final rule allows drivers to use the restart provision only once during a seven-day period.
Trucking companies that allow drivers to exceed the 11-hour driving limit by 3 or more hours could be fined $11,000 per offense, and the drivers themselves could face civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense.
