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Jan 19, 2017

TRUCKERS´PAYMENT * USA: Against state laws dictating truck drivers’ time and pay

* DC - To protect carriers from big payouts, Congress may stamp out state laws on driver pay, breaks
--- Carriers operating perfectly legally and within longstanding industry standards could be subject to major payouts to drivers if the Denham language isn’t passed in Congress, says ATA, WSTA and other proponents... Citing major court-ordered settlements in recent years, trucking industry lobbyists say they plan to leverage fresh Republican control in Washington, D.C., to pass the so-called Denham Amendment, which would prevent enforcement of state-level laws dictating truck drivers’ time and pay, such as those in California, and protect carriers from falling victim to such court orders... Major proponents include the American Trucking Associations and the Western States Trucking Association, both of whom have said legislation to assert federal authority over break and pay laws for truckers is a top-level agenda item in the coming years... 
 (Photo)   --  Washington, DC, USA - CCJ, by James Jaillet - January 17, 2017

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Nov 30, 2016

OVERTIME RULE BLOCKED * USA: MAY BENEFIT TRUCKING

* DC - US Chamber of Commerce: "... change would have added $1 billion in costs"

--- A preliminary injunction issued yesterday in a lawsuit filed by the National Retail Federation (NRF), attorney generals from 21 states and 50 business groups back in September blocked impending changes to federal overtime pay rules – and blocking that rule may benefit trucking as well... The contentious changes made by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) back in May to overtime pay rules mainly affected so-called “white collar” workers – some 3.9 million of them, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), though others say the number is closer to 4.2 million... In terms of monetary impact on businesses larger and small, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that the overtime rule change would have added $1 billion in costs. The 21 states involved in the lawsuit said the rule would’ve added $115 million in government costs as well... Apparently, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant III in Sherman, Texas, agreed and so blocked the rule... And Congress may eventually decide to jettison them, along with many other Obama-era regulations, according to plans now being laid... We’ll see what comes of that effort in the coming months... 
(Photo)   --  Washington, DC, USA - Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr - Nov 23, 2016

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Nov 17, 2016

TRUCKERS' H.O.S. * USA: Congress' debates about

* DC - Safety groups renew battle over trucking riders

--- Safety groups are renewing a fight over spending bill provisions that they worry would endanger truck drivers and other motorists on the road... In a letter to House and Senate appropriators on Tuesday, a coalition of consumer, public health and safety groups called on Congress to steer clear of certain provisions regarding trucker rest and meal breaks in a continuing resolution, or a catchall spending bill, citing a “dramatic” increase in truck crash deaths and injuries... The issue has been a lightning rod in the debate over fiscal 2017 transportation spending legislation, which is an otherwise non-controversial appropriations measure... In the House, appropriators proposed a technical fix without the new cap on hours. But the lower chamber's spending bill also included another trucking provision that would preempt state laws on commercial trucking meal and rest breaks... 
(Getty Images)  --  Washington, DC, USA - The Hill, by MELANIE ZANONA - 15 Nov 2016

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Sep 21, 2016

ZIKA & GOP vs. TRUCKERS' HOURS OF SERVICE * USA

* DC - Republicans want to use Zika Funding Bill to keep truckers on the road longer


(Photo: Add-on provision could let truckers work more than 80 hours a week)

--- Want to keep the government open? Want to fund the Zika response? The trucking industry and Republican allies in Congress say the price for that could be weakening rest rules for truck drivers, sources said... The industry is trying to latch onto the stopgap bill that Congress must pass this month to combat Zika and to fund the government until Dec. 9, hoping to slip in a provision that would permanently block a rest regulation for truck drivers that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has tried to implement since 2013... The rule would ensure that drivers take off at least two nights a week and drive no more than 70 hours. It was enacted because research suggested the best, most restorative sleep happens at night, and because accidents jump dramatically when drivers are fatigued... The industry and many drivers believe this rule robs them of flexibility. Forcing drivers to sleep at night means they have to drive during the daytime, when there are more vehicles on the roads and more accidents, they argue... 
Washington, DC, USA - The Huffington Post, by Michael McAuliff - 20 Sept 2016

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Jun 3, 2016

TRUCKERS' HOS DEBATE * USA

* DC - Conflicting views on trucker hours, 'restart' collide in Congress 

--  Shippers, trucking companies and others eager for clarity on truck driver work rules that affect the flow of goods throughout the U.S. will have to wait as Congress spends more hours reconciling competing trucking provisions in House and Senate transportation spending bills... At stake is the future of the restart provision introduced in 2004 that allows truckers to reset their weekly hours-of-service clocks and get back on the road after 34 hours off-duty... The restart has been credited with improving the productivity of drivers and trucks and criticized for shortening weekend rest breaks and pushing truckers back onto the road too quickly... There may be many long hours of debate yet before the future of the 34-hour restart and HOS rules becomes clearer. At the end of the current "on-duty" cycle in Washington next January, a new White House and Congress are likely to determine what route the regulations will take... 
Washington, DC, USA - JOC, by William B. Cassidy - May 31, 2016

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May 25, 2016

TRUCKERS' HOS * USA: A transportation funding bill

* DC - Senate keeps Hours-of-Service fix

  (Video from truckingresearch. Uploaded on Aug 18, 2008)

-- The Senate has passed a transportation funding bill that includes a fix of earlier legislative language that muddied what might happen to the Hour of Service rule’s restart provisions if a mandated study cannot show that the restart changes benefitted drivers... The measure also includes a firm deadline for issuing a federal speed-limiter rule for Class 7-8 trucks... Now, the HOS ball is in the House’s court... The Senate bill would clarify how the results of a Department of Transportation study -mandate by an earlier bill- will eventually impact HOS restart provisions. The measure includes language that aims to prevent drivers from abusing the restart rule by capping the amount of time they can spend behind the wheel or on duty at 73 hours per week... As for speed-limiters, the Senate measure directs the Department of Transportation to issue a final rule requiring speed-limiting devices on Class 7 and 8 trucks “not later than 6 months” after the THUD bill is enacted... 
Washington, DC, USA - TruckingInfo, by David Cullen - May 20, 2016

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May 16, 2016

TRUCKERS HOS * USA: Do not changes the current maximum mandatory hours

* DC - 73-hour, seven-day workweek limit set by Senate panel for truck drivers

--- Truck drivers’ hours of service limits may be tweaked under a fiscal 2017 transportation funding bill passed by an influential Senate appropriations committee this spring... Under the move spearheaded by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the legislation’s 73-hour cap does not make any changes to the current maximum mandatory hours a commercial truck driver can drive in a given week without taking a restart: 60 hours in 7 days and 70 hours in 8 days. Once a driver takes a 34-hour restart—the 73-hour cap precludes the possibility that any driver could drive after having worked 73 hours. In short, drivers have to take a break (34 hour restart) when they hit 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days... 
(Photo) -- Washington, DC, USA - Logistic Management, by John D. Schulz - May 12, 2016

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Mar 30, 2016

HOS EXEMPTION DENIED * USA

* DC - FMCSA denies HOS exemption request for truckers at natural gas, oil sites

-- Federal trucking regulators have denied American Trucking Associations’ hours-of-service exemption request that would have allowed truck drivers working at natural gas and oil sites to exclude waiting time from their calculations of on-duty time... Currently, only specially trained drivers of commercial motor vehicles that are constructed specifically to service oil- and natural-gas extraction sites may use the exemption.. ATA had proposed that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issue a limited two-year exemption to permit exclusion of such waiting time from drivers' 14-hour duty day when they have a proper place to rest... The trade federation had argued that trucks equipped with sleeper berths and on-site bunking or resting facilities would satisfy the “rest opportunity” standard... “ATA believes the proposed exemption would encourage these drivers to obtain quality rest at extraction sites and would provide an improved standard for state officials enforcing waiting-time requirements,” ATA said... However, FMCSA officials concluded that ATA did not demonstrate how the commercial vehicle operations under such an exemption “would achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety obtained in the absence of the exemption”... 
 (Photo: Request to allow some drivers to use detention time as off-duty time denied by FMCSA)   --   Washington, DC, USA - Transport Topics - 25 March 2016

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Feb 28, 2016

Bathroom breaks for truck drivers * USA

* DC - Bitter battle erupts on Capitol Hill over: In other words about truckers

-- A bitter battle over a simple issue — how long truck drivers should be allowed for bathroom and meal breaks — was renewed on Capitol Hill on Thursday and may be the death knell for a vital House bill to fund aviation... The overall bill has nothing to do with truckers. Instead, it just prohibits states from regulating the “hours of service” of certain workers who are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation... The legislation is needed because some states (specifically California and its courts) have repeatedly failed to recognize that federal preemptions under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (F4A) apply to interstate trucking operations. As a result, trucking companies could be required to schedule and pay drivers according to the employment laws of each state in which they operate... Twenty-two states have laws that give truckers more frequent or longer bathroom and meal breaks than current federal regulations, which stipulate that truckers take a minimum 30-minute break eight hours after they climb behind the wheel... “I think that if your employer told you that you would get docked [in pay] when you go to the bathroom or have a meal break, I think you would be outraged, too,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) told reporters Thursday. “This terrible anti-safety, anti-worker provision is a poison pill" ... “And it’s about more than pay,” Boxer said. “A truck driver who fears their pay will be docked—which will be most of them—will suffer from driver fatigue. We know that driver fatigue and distracted driving are significant causes of truck-involved accidents. This terrible anti-safety, anti-worker provision is a poison pill and has no place in the FAA bill” ... Safety groups oppose the provision, which they say will be used by companies to pressure drivers to continue behind the wheel when they are tired or hungry. Boxer cited support from a dozen trucking, labor, and highway safety groups, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA), the Truck Safety Coalition, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a statement: “These elected officials are doing the bidding of the American Trucking Associations, which wants drivers on the clock as much as possible” ... To emphasize her point that not compensating truck drivers for time spent on “non-driving” responsibilities is dangerous, Boxer cited a letter from OOIDA on the issue: “This unpaid time creates undue pressure incentivizing drivers to drive farther and faster in order to remain economically viable” ... The federal aviation authorization was extended last September; that extension expires at the end of next month...
Washington, DC, USA - The Washington Post, by Ashley Halsey III - February 25, 2016

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Jan 22, 2016

TRUCKERS´HOURS of SERVICE * USA: No reinstatement of trucker hours-of-service rules on the horizon

* Georgia - ... And not without consultation with trucking “stakeholders”

-- U.S. truck driver hours-of-service rules suspended by Congress won’t be put back in place any time soon, and not without consultation with trucking “stakeholders,” a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration official told trucking and logistics executives today... “We are continuing with that suspension, even though we’re into fiscal year 2016,” Larry Minor, associate administrator for policy at the FMCSA, told the more than 500 trucking and logistics professionals attending the SMC3 JumpStart 2016 conference here this week... The suspended provisions of the 2011 rule required drivers using the 34-hour restart to begin a new work week to include two back-to-back 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods in that restart. That requirement made it much more difficult for drivers to actually restart in 34 hours... 
Atlanta, GA, USA - JOC, by William B. Cassidy - Jan 20, 2016

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Jul 7, 2014

HOURS OF SERVICE * Australia: Truckers' fatigue

* NSW - Truck driving hours to be investigated

Sydney,NSW,Australia -SKY News -6 July 2014: -- A major investigation into the trucking industry has revealed some drivers are on the road for at least 21 hours a shift... The NSW Roads and Maritime Service has launched an operation following a spate of serious crashes, with fatigue and speed in their sights... The investigation comes as a Sydney trucking company was fined almost $90,000 after one of its drivers was found to have been driving for more than 21 hours...

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Nov 18, 2010

TRUCKERS' WAITING TIMES * Australia - Roozendaal told to deliver deadline on paid waiting times

Under paid waiting times, stevedores will need to compensate trucking operators 



Sidney,NSW,Australia -Supply Chain Review, by Brad Gardner -November 18, 2010: -- The NSW Government has been urged to name a date for the introduction of paid waiting times at Port Botany after delaying the scheme until next year...   Ports Minister, Eric Roozendaal, this week told the trucking industry it needed to wait until early in 2011 to be compensated for time spent queuing, which has at times stretched to five hours...   Roozendaal will also come under a pressure to commit to building amenities and loading bays so drivers have places to rest while waiting to collect or deliver freight...  Under paid waiting times, stevedores will need to compensate trucking operators $25 for every 15 minute delay, $100 if a slot is cancelled within two hours of the agreed access time or $50 if the slot is cancelled outside the two-hour timeframe...  Trucking operators will pay $50 for a late arrival and $100 if their trucks do not show up...   Sydney Ports Corporation says PBLIS will be introduced progressively from December this year through to early 2011...  The trucking industry has long complained of delays at Port Botany, which have jeopardised delivery schedules and left operators exposed to fatigue management breaches...

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Sep 22, 2009

TRUCKIERS' HOS * Canada - OTA urges diligence in HRSDC overtime pay survey

There's discrepancies in how local drivers and highway truckers get paid

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -22 Sept 2009: -- Researchers are looking into "prevailing industry practice(s)" for establishing overtime pay for short-haul truck drivers and the Ontario Trucking Association wants to make sure it's done right... According to the OTA, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) is undertaking a survey of carriers in the Mississauga, Ont. area, which "could have significant implications … as the results of the survey will establish the legal definition of a "city" driver for the purpose of paying overtime for all Mississauga carriers"... Based on should be paid overtime as city drivers if they traveled. After much hard work, HRSDC was convinced to re-do the survey and they found that the local practice was actually to use a 16 km radius of the home terminal (as is stated in the regulation). It is important that a similar misunderstanding does not occur in the Mississauga area... Under Part III of the Canada Labour Code "City Drivers" are entitled to overtime after 45 hours in a week or 9 hours in a day while highway drivers get overtime after 60 hours in a week... A truck driver is deemed to be a city driver when he operates exclusively within a 16 km radius of his or her home terminal; or is classified as a city motor vehicle operator in a collective agreement; or when they would be defined as a city driver according to the prevailing industry practice in the geographical area where the driver is employed... HRSDC inspectors conduct surveys to determine this last criteria by differentiating, among other things, between city drivers and “highway drivers" and how each are paid overtime...(Image Canadian Truckers' Logo)

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Jan 11, 2009

TRUCKERS' HOS * USA - New rules improve trucking safety

Baltimore,MD,USA -The Baltimore Sun -January 10, 2009: ... Two very good reasons why the current trucking work rules are safer than the pre-2004 rules: The 2004 work rules 1) reduced the hours of work truckers are allowed and 2) increased the hours of rest required every day... The current rules may allow an additional hour of driving time, but that hour falls within a significantly shorter total work day... Under the current rules, the work day is limited to 14 hours. Under the pre-2004 rules, the work day was at least one to two hours longer... The pre-2004 limit was a 15-hour work day, but that day could be lengthened by meal breaks... The current rules also require 10 hours of daily rest, as opposed to the eight hours required by pre-2004 rules...

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Nov 12, 2008

HOS Final Rule * USA - Submitted to White House for approval

The final rule was submitted for approval in late October. FMCSA officials have repeatedly said the rule would be released by the end of the year

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -11 Nov 2008: -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s latest attempt to finalize the hours-of-service regulations is under review at the White House Office of Management and Budget... In July 2007, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed the provision that increased driving time to 11 hours from 10 hours and the 34-hour restart provision... The two provisions were tossed by the court on procedural grounds – not based on safety concerns... FMCSA officials wrote in the interim final rule. “This (interim final rule) will ensure that a familiar, uniform set of national rules govern motor carrier transportation, while FMCSA gathers additional public comments on all aspects of this interim final rule... By re-adopting the 11-hour limit and the 34-hour restart, the agency’s intent is to allow motor carriers and drivers to combine work-rest schedules that follow the optimal 24-hour circadian cycle (10 hours off duty and 14 hours on duty) while maintaining highway safety with operational flexibility.”...

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Oct 24, 2008

HOS RULES * USA - Hours rule goes to White House

The Department of Transportation has completed work on a final driver hours-of-service regulation and sent it to the White House for a final review

Washington,DC,USA -eTrucker, by Avery Vise -24 Oct 2008: -- Along with related regulations concerning electronic onboard recorders, the hours rules are the most significant regulations on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s plate as the Bush administration tries to wrap up key rulemakings before it ends in January... Details regarding the new rules will not be disclosed until the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completes its review and the rules are published in the Federal Register...

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Oct 4, 2008

DRIVERS' FATIGUE * Australia - Truckers’ new road rules

Eden,New South Wales,Australia -Thursday Magnet -3 Oct 2008: -- Truck operators across the state have welcomed a last-minute decision from the NSW government to amend fatigue legislation, dispelling the need for a work diary for truck drivers on local jobs... The legislation, which came into effect on Monday, extended the compulsory break for truck drivers from six to seven hours, however no other changes were made to break times... It also means hours between 12 midnight and 6am are classified as ‘long hours’... Drivers are not allowed to work more than 36 long hours in any continuous seven-day period...

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Aug 12, 2008

HOS RESPONSABILITY * Australia - Dubbo truck operator backs laws 'phase in'

"The points is a big thing, it's not the money, it's the points, we only have 12 points and with four bookings we can lose our licence and that's very hard with the industry where we're spending so many hours on the road, so if we could get the Government to give us a bit of leeway on that it would be an excellent step forward"
Dubbo,NSW,Australia -ABC Regional Online -11 Aug 2008: -- A Dubbo trucking operator, Leo Fardell, says the New South Wales Government's decision to "phase in" new chain of responsibility laws is a great step forward... The laws, designed to target speed and fatigue, were to begin next month, but the Government has agreed to give trucking operators six or 12 months to join or upgrade to a new national system... However, Mr Fardell says he would like the Minister, Eric Roozendaal, to go a step further and not enforce demerit points during the phase in period... "The points is a big thing, it's not the money, it's the points, we only have 12 points and with four bookings we can lose our licence and that's very hard with the industry where we're spending so many hours on the road, so if we could get the Government to give us a bit of leeway on that it would be an excellent step forward," he said... The meeting follows a two-day stoppage by hundreds of drivers earlier this month in protest at the laws...

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Aug 5, 2008

TRUCKERS' HOS * Australia - Fatigue management transition for South Australia

South Australia is following implementing a transition period to new fatigue management regulations as well as relaxing its enforcement strategy

Adelaide,South Australia -ATN - 30 July 2008: -- ... Although the laws will be introduced on September 29, operators will have a six-month exemption from changed driving hours. This means drivers using standard hours will still be allowed to drive for 12 hours and work for two hours. Under the new regulations, drivers are limited to a 12-hour workday... The Rann Government is also extending the Transitional Fatigue Management Scheme (TFMS) from six to 12 months. Those resigtered under the TFMS are allowed to drive for longer hours... The South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA), which campaigned hard for the transition periods, says the Government’s decision will give operators more time to adjust to the new regulations... The association says operators will also have more time to determine whether they will need to become accredited in Basic Fatigue Management (BFM) or the Advanced Fatigue Management (AFM) module.

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