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Jun 14, 2014

HOS DEBATES * USA

* New Jersey - Truckers push to roll back new rules on rest 

(Photo from AP: The limousine bus carrying Tracy Morgan and six other people lies on it's side early Saturday morning June 7, 2014 on the New Jersey Turnpike) 
Englewood Cliffs,NJ,USA -CNBC, by John W. Schoen -9 Jun 2014: -- The deadly New Jersey crash Saturday involving an allegedly sleep-deprived Wal-mart truck driver comes just days after the trucking industry won Senate support to roll back new rules designed to make sure truck drivers get enough rest... Kevin Roper, 35, had not slept for more than 24 hours before the accident, according to the complaint... The high-profile crash comes just days after a Senate panel approved a proposal to roll back new rules, first proposed in 2010, forcing truck drivers to pull over and log a minimum number of hours for rest... Since the new hours of service rules took effect last July, the industry has fought hard against the rest regulations... The new regulations require long-haul drivers to cut their maximum workweek to 70 hours from 82, and "restart" those 70 hours with a 34-hour break once a week. Drivers are also required to include at least two nighttime rest breaks from 1 to 5 a.m. during that 34-hour break... In January, a Washington State University study found that the new rules are more effective at combating driver fatigue. The researchers found that drivers who took two more overnight during their restart breaks "experienced fewer lapses of attention, reported less sleepiness while on duty, and maintained their lane position better than those with only one nighttime period in their restart" ... Because the new rules require all drivers to "restart" their week with rest periods that end at 5 a.m., they can no longer stagger the beginning of their new work day. That means they're required to start work just as the morning rush hour begins...


* DC - U.S. Senate votes to possibly suspend restart rule 

 Grain Valley,MO,USA -Today's Trucking -Jun 12, 2014: -- The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 21-9 in favor of suspending the current 34-hour restart provision of the hours of service (HOS) rule while the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) studies the rule’s impact... The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, a national organization that represents small-business truckers, thanked the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for passing the amendment to suspend the new restart provisions in HOS regulations for one year... "Truckers have long pointed out the negative impacts of the 2013 changes on their ability to get rest, stay out of busy city traffic, spend time at home, and make a family-supporting income," said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer... The amendment suspends the two-night rest requirement and the once-a-week limitation on the restart. The suspension starts after the bill is passed and FMCSA posts public notice, and last until September 30, 2015, or when FMCSA finishes the study... During that time, the old restart provision is in effect, which means drivers are not required to be off between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on two straight nights during their restart, and the restriction limiting use of the restart to once a week...


* New York - Why are some long-haul truckers so tired?

NY,USA -NBC News, by BILL BRIGGS -June 9th 2014: -- American motorists face a higher injury risk involving long-haul rigs because federal rules are compelling some commercial drivers to skip their rest stops, the leader of a truckers trade group asserted Monday... Federal regulations now limit commercial drivers to 14-hour workdays -– part of a series of moves meant to give truckers more down time and inject more safety into the nation’s highways... But the hourly ceiling removed the deadline flexibility that commercial drivers once had if they needed to wait out traffic jams and bad weather, forcing some to max out their 14-hour windows and hold the wheel when they’d prefer to pull off the road, trucker advocates argue... “If the regulations are so strict that a driver can’t stop and take a break or take a nap when they need to, then I don’t know how you can conclude anything other than the regulations have made highways less safe,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). The trade group represents 150,000 members, spanning all states... The American Automobile Association cites statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that road fatalities involving large trucks increased by 4 percent between 2011 and 2012 — from 3,781 to 3,921. Of the big-rig-related deaths in 2012, 73 percent were occupants of other vehicles, 10 percent were non-occupants, and 18 percent were occupants of commercial trucks...

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