The intent of the Hours of Service (HOS) rule is to improve safety by ensuring drivers are adequately rested and alert while driving. But as carriers and safety advocates wait for the FMCSA to release the final HOS rule, shippers are starting to analyze how they will be impacted. Here’s what you need to know about the current, complex rules, how they’re expected to change, and what may happen as a result.
Under the current rules, drivers of commercial motor vehicles have 3 maximum duty limits at all times:
- The 14-hour duty limit. Drivers can be on duty for 14 consecutive hours of duty before being off duty for 10 or more consecutive hours. The 14-consecutive-hour duty period begins when the driver starts any kind of work and continues through lunch breaks or naps during those 14 hours.
- 11-hour driving limit. During the 14-consecutive-hour duty period explained above, drivers can only drive their truck for up to 11 total hours. Once they have driven a total of 11 hours, they have reached the driving limit and must be off duty for another 10 consecutive hours before driving a truck again.
- 60/70-hour duty limit. Drivers must follow one of these two “weekly” limits:
1) If the carrier does not operate vehicles every day of the week, the driver can’t drive after they’ve been on duty 60 hours during any 7 consecutive days. Once they reach the 60-hour limit, they can’t drive again until they have dropped below 60 hours for 7 consecutive days.
2) If the carrier operates vehicles every day of the week, they may assign a driver to the 70-hour/8-day schedule.
The proposed rule changes would:
- Retain the 34-hour restart provision, but would limit restarts to once per 7-day period, and would be required to include two consecutive off-duty periods from midnight to 6 a.m.
- Require a driver to complete all driving within a 14-hour workday and to complete all work-related activities within 13 hours (allowing for a 1-hour break). The total hours of allowed driving time (currently 11/day) may be reduced to 10 hours, but will be debated.
- Suggest the possibility of reducing driving time to 10 hours.
- Drivers would be allowed to extend on-duty shifts to 16 hours twice a week to accommodate loading/unloading at terminals and ports as well as to allow for longer off-duty time in a parked truck while on site.
How the change will affect you
Many industry observers share the concerns voiced by the trucking industry. In a January 12 letter to Congress, then-American Trucking Associations (ATA) president Bill Graves said, “If implemented, the regulations will have a substantially negative impact on productivity and the economy. Trucking companies would need to put a large number of additional trucks and drivers on the road to deliver the same amount of freight, adding to final product costs and increasing congestion on the nation’s already clogged highways.”
We expected to see the final rule for this latest HOS proposal at the end of July. This has obviously been delayed, and the new date for issuing the final rule is scheduled for October 28, 2011. Over the summer, the political winds shifted considerably against any type of "over-regulation," and the HOS rule was listed as one of the U.S. economy's top 7 most expensive rules to implement. So, stay tuned to this fluid issue. We are sure it will get plenty of press when the final rule is issued sometime this year.
If these changes were to go into effect, how would they impact the market? It is clear it would lead to lower productivity per truck.
Has the proposed HOS rulemaking affected your business? Comment below and share your experiences.
