Outside Article: The Long-Haul Trucker & the Hours of Service

The Long-Haul Trucker and the Hours of Service
Copyright 2003 by Lori Jindra

Since May 2 of 2000, there has been an on-going debate between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Congress, and many civilian organizations that deal with the trucking and bussing industries. This debate includes all drivers that hold a CDL license and drive trucks or busses. These people include UPS drivers, regional drivers, bus drivers, utility company drivers, long-haul truck drivers, and many more. I am only going to address the long-haul truck driver at this time because to address this entire issue could take days.
The questions I am trying to answer are, do the hours of service a trucker has to abide by make the truck driver prone to fatigue which in turn causes accidents and should the truck drivers hours of service be revised?
On May 2 of 2000, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, hereafter referred to as the FMCSA, proposed a revision to the hours of service for the long-haul trucker. One of their arguments is that the current regulations need to be changed because they were put into place in 1937 when the trucking industry could not drive faster than 35 miles an hour ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation for Motor Carriers"). Hours of service is the number of hours a truck driver is allowed to drive and must rest on a daily basis. They must also keep track of these hours in a logbook. The logbook is a 24-hour grid that runs from midnight to midnight. The logbook is used to keep track of the truck driver's day so that the DOT can know exactly what the driver did, when the driver did it, where the driver did it and how long it took for the driver to perform his duties. Truck drivers must understand several terms in order to fill out their logbook correctly, these terms include driving time, off-duty, sleeper berth, and on-duty.
·Driving time means all time spent at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation.
·Off-duty means the period of time when the driver is not on duty, is not required to be in readiness to work, or is not under any responsibility for performing work.
·Sleeper berth is the sleeping compartment behind the seats in a semi-truck.
·On-duty means all time from the time a driver begins to work or is required to be in readiness to work until the time the driver is relieved from work and all responsibility for performing work.

On-duty time shall include:
1.All time at a plant, terminal, facility, or other property of a motor carrier or shipper, or on any public property, waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the motor carrier;
2.All time inspecting, servicing, or conditioning any commercial motor vehicle at any time;
3.All driving time as defined in the term driving time;
4.All time, other than driving time, in or upon any commercial motor vehicle except time spent resting in a sleeper berth;
5.All time loading or unloading a commercial motor vehicle, supervising, or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a commercial motor vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the commercial motor vehicle, or in giving or receiving receipts for shipments loaded or unloaded;
6.All time repairing, obtaining assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled commercial motor vehicle;
7.All time spent providing a breath sample or urine specimen, including travel time to and from the collection site, in order to comply with the random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, or follow-up testing required by part 382, of this subchapter, when directed by a motor carrier;
8.Performing any other work in the capacity, employ, or service of a motor carrier; and
9.Performing any compensated work for a person who is not a motor carrier. (USC § 395.2).
The regulations allow for 10 hours driving time and 8 hours to sleep which means that in a 24-hour period the truck driver could drive 14 ľ hours a day leaving 15 minutes for the mandatory pre-trip inspection that must be performed every day and logged. Realistically, most truck drivers would not drive 14 ľ hours a day because they must also follow a regulation that says they cannot exceed 70 hours of driving time in 8 days. If the truck driver drove 14 ľ hours a day they would be completely out of driving hours in 4 days. If they were to reach the 70 hours in 4 days they end up spending their time off in a truck stop or rest area wherever their time is up and not home with their families. Most truck drivers don't choose to spend time off on the road but some do and will run the 70 hours in 4 days take three days off and start over again.

The FMCSA made the following proposal:
·24-hour days 7 days a week.
·Require long-haul truckers a period of 10 consecutive hours off duty within a 24-hour cycle, and two hours of additional time off in each 14 hour period within each 24-hour cycle.
·Require weekends, or their functional equivalent, to include at a minimum, a rest period that includes two consecutive periods from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation For Motor Carriers").
What this means is that a truck driver could conceivably be behind the wheel of his truck for 12 consecutive hours, which exceeds the existing 10 hours. The hope of the FMCSA is that the truck driver will use 2 hours of his off-duty time to split up the 12 hours but that is left up to the truck driver's discretion. (The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation for Motor Carriers). The mandatory weekend would put a truck driver at those rest areas and truck stops for their time off more often than not and then the truck driver is punished with this new regulation because he or she can't get home to their families. They will have to shut down wherever time runs out and on top of that it puts them back out on the road driving during rush hour the morning they are to leave out again. If at anytime during their time off they have contact with the dispatcher of their company, the time off period starts over again.
The other part of FMCSA's proposal is to put an electronic device on every truck to track when a driver is actually driving. This would be used in place of a paper logbook. The device may not be a bad idea but it still cannot tell you whether the driver is resting or unloading his truck. Most people within the long-haul trucking industry, including myself, agree that there needs to be a change in the hours of service but not due to fatigue issues. ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation for Motor Carriers").
The American Trucking Association published the findings of the following study
conducted by the Federal Highway Administration showing who has the highest contribution to fatal crashes between passenger vehicles and trucks. Notice that fatigue was never addressed in this study. The results are as follows:
·In 89% of fatal head-on passenger vehicle/truck crashes, the passenger vehicle crossed the center line into the truck's lane, while in 11% of these crashes, the truck encroached into the passenger vehicle's lane. Thus the passenger vehicle encroached into the truck's lane of travel over eight times as often as the truck encroached into the vehicle's travel lane.
·In 80% of rear-end crashes, the passenger vehicle was the striking vehicle. In other words, the passenger vehicle was the striking vehicle four times as often as the truck.
·In 88% of opposite direction sideswipe accidents, the passenger vehicle was the striking vehicle. In other terms, the passenger vehicle encroached into the truck's lane over seven times as often as the large truck encroached into the passenger vehicle's lane.
·In 72% of the same direction sideswipe accidents, the passenger vehicle was the striking vehicle. In other terms, the passenger vehicle encroached into the truck's lane about two and one half times as often as the truck encroached into the passenger vehicle's lane.
·In 71% of crashes, the police assigned one or more crash factors to the passenger vehicle driver and none to the truck driver. ("FHWA Study Shows Passenger Vehicle Drivers Contribute More Often To Fatal Truck Crashes").
There have not been a tremendous number of studies proving that truck drivers who are fatigued are causing accidents. It's a difficult study to perform because so often the driver of the truck is not able to say what happened because he didn't survive that accident.
The FMCSA, Congressmen and advocates of long-haul trucking presented the following information to the House of Representatives:
Over the last 10 years, truck accidents have declined 34 percent and miles traveled have increased by 43 percent. In 1996, truck crashes per 100 million miles driven were 2.6 and in 1999 had decreased to 2.2. There are approximately 40,000 fatalities a year on our nation's highways and only 5000 of those fatalities involve trucks. Within that 5000 truck involved fatalities 6 percent are fatigue related, that is 300 out of 5000. ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation for Motor Carriers"). The FMCSA has inflated that number, without any study or proof to 15 percent.
With the FMCSA proposal they have estimated the trucking industry will need to hire an additional 49,000 drivers and the trucking industry estimates that need at closer to 100,000 new drivers. This 100,000 is in addition to the already existing shortage of approximately 180,000. There is an extreme shortage of truck drivers and this proposal would make that number far higher. ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service For Motor Carriers").
The cost to implement this proposal in just one large trucking company with 12,400 drivers would be 95 million dollars for replacement employees, and another 44,500,000 dollars to keep a driver at their current rate of pay. If the company doesn't choose to replace the money a driver would lose with this proposal then the driver takes an annual loss of 11,250 dollars. How many of you can afford to lose 11,000 dollars a year? For all companies across the board, between new hires, keeping current drivers at their current rate of pay, additional inventory and installation of electronic equipment the cost would be 175 billion dollars over a 3-year period. ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation for Motor Carriers").
Personally, I find the FMCSA's proposal unreasonable and unrealistic. The cost alone could drive the small trucking companies into bankruptcy or out of business. No trucker I know wants to spend their time off wherever they land and how many of us sleep 14 hours a day. Many truck drivers will walk away from this occupation and create an atmosphere of greater driver shortages, more hostility within the trucking community and far more fatigue related accidents.
Truck drivers are a completely different breed of people, they have to be. Truck drivers have one of the most difficult jobs in this country. Imagine driving for hours and hours, getting to your delivery point and then being told either unload your own trailer or hire someone to unload it, then after you're finished unloading you have to drive to your reload location and you might have to help load that too. The loading and unloading, if the driver is doing it, must be claimed as on-duty hours so along with driving, drivers have spent time loading and unloading or they can't sleep while waiting to be loaded or unloaded because they have to listen for the shipping or receiving people to call them over the CB. Now, why do you suppose truckers are tired?
The following are some views by truckers about the current conditions and the proposal by the FMCSA.
"Drivers hours have never been a problem. The problem is drivers exceeding those hours because of dispatch requirements. If dispatch rules were changed so that a truck arriving legitimately at a destination still had enough time to legally unload freight and make a safe zone (truck stop) to get the required amount of sleep. All too often dispatches are right up against the clock, just to make the appointment leaving the driver exhausted. Everybody jumps on the hours of service because it gives them something to talk about and fine the truckers for. The hours of service is not the problem and never has been the problem." ("Driver Comments On Hours of Service").
"Yes, I am a driver and if I could change anything I would start with the shippers and receivers. Shippers would have to wake you more formally by knocking on your door. Not we will call you on your CB. Calling one on the CB means one must stay awake which in turn one can't sleep. Shippers can no longer expect a road driver to set and wait longer than two hours. Drivers would not have to be responsible for the hiring of lumpers, it's not the responsibility of the trucking company, it is the responsibility of the receivers. The unloading of trucks is the soul responsibility of the receiver. Here again we have to wait and call on the CB." ("Driver Comments On Hours of Service")
"I think that all truck drivers should strike. Because it cuts all trucks pay. Time is money. I don't think it will improve safety, it will only increase government revenue. My wife delivers mail. She is on Duty about 12 hours a day. She is not required to take a 10 hour break before driving home. Now think about all those drivers in the 7 a.m. traffic that worked the 12-hour night shift, and how many don't make it home because they were not alert. Stop picking on the best driver on the road. We can't afford another pay cut." ("Driver Comments On Hours of Service")
One alternative to avoid trucker fatigue is the proposal made by two trucking companies in collusion with a sleep scientist. They devised a fatigue management program instead of the Standard hours of service regulations.
The following are the details of how the sleep management program was implemented:
In the initial phase of the pilot project, 20 drivers from each fleet were screened for sleep disorders and treated if necessary. They would be tested for alertness and undergo intensive training in managing their wake and rest cycles. They would have to sleep eight hours every 24 hours, at times when they can get their best rest and their sleep would be monitored by a wrist actigraph. They would work according to when they are rested, on a schedule worked out by themselves, company officials and the sleep scientist. (Patton).
"The training must be sufficiently intense and unambiguous so that the drivers will completely understand and believe what is being taught," (Patton) the proposal says. In their training the drivers will learn the following:
·Everyone needs a specific amount of sleep each day between seven and nine hours.
·Everyone has a biological clock that determines his daily cycle of sleepiness and alertness. That clock sends out a powerful signal, called clock-dependent alerting, that tells the brain when it should resist the tendency to sleep. When that signal subsides, typically in the early afternoon and then again in the evening, you have little defense against the urge to fall asleep.
·If it takes a conscious effort to stay awake, then you are drowsy and that's a red alert signal that you should not be driving. "Drivers must accept the responsibility to stop driving without exception any time they feel drowsy." (Patton).
Truck drivers who have been through the training program testify that it has changed their lives. (Patton).
As you can see the fatigue management program would put the trucker driver in charge of himself and allow him to take responsibility for his own driving and resting time.
My husband is a long-haul truck driver and I have had the privilege of experiencing a trucker's life first hand and let me tell you it's no easy feat to do what they do day in and day out. My experience came in the form of getting a learner's permit and learning how to drive truck. I was out there driving truck and I can tell you it wasn't other truckers that caused me the most grief while I was driving, it was those people in cars, SUV's, motor homes and other four-wheel vehicles.
The following poem by an unknown truck-driving author, might help you see what a truck driver's life is like.

I have also had the opportunity to meet many, many truck drivers and the majority of them are bright, intelligent, professional people. These people go out of their way to be the best at what they do for a living. When you talk to a truck driver they are very proud of their driving abilities and in the fact that they've never had an accident. They do realize they hold lives in their hands by how they drive and by whether or not they have enough sleep.
Truck drivers literally drive our economy as shown in the statistics presented by the American Trucking Association:

·Trucks service 75% of all US communities
·They deliver 9 billion tons of freight, which is 67% of all tonnage hauled in the US.
·According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are slightly over 3,000,000 truck drivers nationwide
·Over 9.9 million people in the US work in the trucking industry
·Trucking related jobs paid over $317 billion in 1999
·There are more then 600,000 companies in the US that are involved with trucking
·More then 73% of US motor carriers operate 6 or fewer trucks; 82% operate 20 or fewer (In 2000)
·The trucking industry generated $606 billion in gross revenues hauling 9 billion tons of freight in 2000. (That represents 87.5 percent of the nation's freight bill.) ("Standard Trucking and Transportation Statistics).

It's time to stop treating one of this countries most important assets like second-class citizens. The regulations they live with are ridiculous and even more ridiculous is the proposal by the FMCSA. Truck drivers don't live to drive trucks they drive trucks to be able to support themselves and their families. We need to find an alternative and although I believe the fatigue management program is a viable solution, I also believe that the following proposals should also be implemented.
1.The speed limit on all roads (freeways, interstates, etc.) should be the same for all vehicles. It's extremely unsafe to have cars traveling at 65 or 70 miles an hour and trucks traveling at 55 or 65 miles an hour. If you have one truck passing another truck at 60 or 65 miles an hour and a car coming up at 70 miles an hour or faster it's very probable that the car would rear-end the passing truck or risk being rear-ended themselves for slamming on their brakes.

2.In areas that restrict trucks to the right two lanes, they run a high risk of more accidents because cars in the far left lane will cut off a truck to get off their needed exit ramp. If they want to restrict trucks to two lanes it should be the left two lanes so that cars won't have as much opportunity to cut trucks off forcing them to hit their brakes or hit the car who cut them off. Better yet don't restrict trucks except during rush hour.

3.In driver's education classes a program should be implemented that includes the following tips provided by the FMCSA.
Don't cut in front of trucks. Truckers leave extra room behind the vehicles they follow because it takes them longer to stop. If you move into that space you place yourself and others at risk.
·Stay out of the "No-Zone". A truck has large blind spots (called The No-Zone) in front, back, and along the sides of the vehicle. If you are in the No-Zone and a truck driver has to suddenly change lanes, they may not see your car. Don't hang out in The No-Zone.
·Avoid Tailgating. If you can't see a truck's mirrors, chances are the truck driver can't see you. Also, if you follow too closely, you may not have time to react to changing conditions like an accident or roadway debris. All trucks have under ride bumpers to protect automobile drivers, but if you rear-end a truck, you will still lose.
·Wear Your Seat Belt. Bucking your seat belt is the number one thing you can do to save your life in a crash. A seat belt can help you stay in your seat and keep control of the car. The safest place for children is in the back seat, buckled up or in a car seat.
·Cut Down on Distractions. Talking on your cell phone, eating lunch, reading the newspaper and playing with your kids are things that are best done outside of your car. While you are behind the wheel, driving should be your main focus.
·Drive Defensively. Avoid aggressive driving and maintain a safe speed. Two-thirds of all traffic fatalities involve aggressive drivers. The only thing excessive speed and aggressiveness increases are your chance for a crash. ("Size Does Matter).
Along with the tips the students should have to ride with a truck driver in his truck to get a feeling for what a truck driver deals with on the road everyday.
Jean Bellegarde would be the first to insist that students need to be taught these tips. She learned the hard way when she was in an accident because she was in the blind spot of the truck driver and got rammed and run across four lanes of traffic. Jean had no understanding of the No-Zone and thought she was safe where she was beside the truck driver. Jean went on to present programs for safe driving around heavy trucks because she didn't want anyone else to have to experience what she experienced. (Bishop).
4. Truck drivers should have the following tips, also provided by the FMCSA, implemented and strongly stressed in their training programs.
·Always Keep Your Distance. Be sure to leave enough room between you and the car in front of you. Large trucks need up to five times the stopping distance of a car. Take advantage of your increased sight distance and anticipate possible changes in traffic flow.
·Slow Down in Work Zones. Watch out for work zones. Stay alert. Nearly one-third of work zone fatalities involve large trucks. Take time going through work zones and obey posted speed limits. Give yourself plenty of room to react, and always expect the unexpected.
·Take Care of Yourself. Eat well, stay fit and get plenty of rest before driving. Driver fatigue and distractions can significantly increase your risk of a crash. Driving tired is dangerous and can threaten your livelihood and even your life. Don't drive tired!
·Be Aware of Your No-Zone. Other drivers may not be aware of the size of your blind spots. Adjust your mirrors and be vigilant in watching out for vehicles in the No-Zone.
·Always Maintain Your Vehicle. Inspecting your vehicle and checking your brakes before each trip can save your life. Brake defects are the most commonly cited out-of-service violation. Learn how to inspect your brakes, identify defects and get them repaired before risking your life and others.
·Work to Improve Highway Safety. Always be professional! Help notify law enforcement of crashed, unsafe drivers, poor road conditions and other situations that could lead to a crash. Help keep the roads safe for everyone. Be a part of the solution - not a part of the problem. Act likke a professional and you will be treated as such. ("Size Does Matter").
5.Shippers and receivers should be responsible for loading and unloading the trailers. They sold it or ordered it, not the truck driver. A truck driver's responsibility should be driving from point A to point B and driving that distance as safely as possible.
6.A regulation should be in effect that stiffly fines trucking companies and their dispatchers and brokers who encourage truck drivers to drive beyond their hours of service. When a driver refuses to break the regulations they need to be safeguarded against the threat of being fired or the punishment of being forced to sit and wait for a load when they have hours available to drive again and believe me this does happen. As I learned from Officer Bob Johnson of the Iowa Department of Transportation, there is an 800 number that can be called when a company pushed a truck driver to drive illegal or sick but most truck drivers aren't told what that number is and some aren't even aware the number exists. All truckers should be given this number during their training. (Johnson).
7.Either leave the hours of service as they are now or change them to 12 hours on and 12 hours off. The truck driver knows when they are tired and how they divide up their 12 hours on-duty should be up to the truck driver with a mandatory straight 8 hours out of the 12 hours off-duty for a rest period. The other 4 hours off-duty can be split as the truck driver sees fit.
8.There should not be a cap on how many hours a truck driver can drive in a 7 day or 14 day period as long as they don't exceed the 12 hours allowed per day. Again, the truck driver knows when they need to go home for time off, leave it up to their discretion. After all we allow employees in others sectors of the workforce to work overtime or double shifts, which can be up to 16 hours, and then they are allowed to drive home without a rest period.
9.If the FMCSA is so interested in safety they need to start taking a hard look at the people driving cars. Alan Burkhart, a truck driver, said it best in his essay "Why We Kill Each Other On The Road,"

·I see people every day who change lanes without checking their mirrors, who cross railroad tracks without looking, who actually read newspapers and even novels while driving. I see women who attempt to negotiate rush hour traffic while putting on their make-up in the rearview mirror. I have even seen sexual activity at 80 mph. By the way, if you think that you can keep your activities "private" when you do it below window level, guess again. Remember how tall those trucks are? You can't hide from me.
·So many people out there have forgotten how to share the road. Is it really such a big hassle to click off the cruise for a few seconds to let someone merge? Is it a giant sacrifice to move to the left when there is a disabled vehicle in the breakdown lane? Is it really necessary to cut in front of someone just to beat them to an exit ramp? Self absorption is something that we adults are supposed to outgrow by the time we reach age 16 or 17. I see perfectly normal, considerate, compassionate people who become spoiled, petulant children when they get behind the wheel. Are you one of them?
·Fatigue…This is becoming more and more of an issue as time goes by. More and more people are getting behind the wheel when they are too tired to drive safely. In my industry, there are laws against this. Those laws are enforced with heavy fines and downtime. I'd love to see similar laws passed for the rest of you! I narrowly avoided an accident in 1999 when a lady nodded off at the wheel of her Buick and jumped the median on I-79 in West Virginia. I had to leave the road myself to avoid her. She's dead now, because she slammed into a wall of solid rock and killed herself and her husband.
·If you swerve in front of me and then slam on the brakes to make an exit (this happens EVERY DAY), and I don't have room to stop, YOU ARE DEAD. I repeat: YOU. ARE. DEAD. Let it sink in. An average load of freight weighs 42,000 pounds. My truck and trailer weighs 33,400 pounds. That's 75,400 pounds slamming into the back of your car at whatever speed I'm driving. SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED POUNDS. Not just crashing into you, but ON TOP OF YOU. You won't have a snowball's chance. Is that exit ramp really that important to you? I can't change the laws of physics. A loaded semi takes more room to slow or stop than an automobile. Therefore, when you suddenly slow down in front of me, it is unavoidable that I will be gaining on you. (Burkhart).

I would have presented Alan's essay in its entirety but I just had too much to say myself. I would, however, encourage finding his works on the Internet and listening to what he has to say about every aspect of driving a truck.
President Clinton set out a directive in March 1995 to the department and agency heads of the Federal Administrative agencies to reform regulations. They were: Cut obsolete regulations, reward results not red tape, get out of Washington and create grassroots partnerships and don't dictate. ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation For Motor Vehicles")
He told these men and women "I direct you to change the way you measure the performance of both your agency and your front line regulators so as to focus on results, not process and punishment." ("The Department of Transportation's Proposed Hours of Service Regulation For Motor Carriers"). I guess the FMCSA chose to ignore this directive when they were hurriedly pushing this proposal through without having all the necessary information.
It's time to give the truck driver a break. Let's find out how many of the 5,000 truck involved accidents are caused by the driver in the car. I guarantee you that number is much higher than 300. Let's start looking at the real big issues not just the smallest issues. Renegade truck drivers who are driving 18 to 24 hours straight through without resting and these same truck drivers are breaking all of the regulations, generally causing fatigue issues but this is not the majority of how truck drivers perform. All trucking companies, their dispatchers, brokers, shippers and receivers need to take a hard look at how much time it takes away from a truck drivers sleep when the impossible is expected of them.
When the FMCSA tackles the hours of service issue again they need to include people who live the truck drivers life, people from the DOT, trucking companies, and get input on how new regulations would affect all of these fields. Get statistics that are real and can be proven, don't just shoot in the dark and hope the proposal is a good one. If they would all work together they could take away many of the problems that face truck drivers every day.
We must realize we need truck drivers. Truck Drivers deliver the majority of the products we buy and without them we would not survive. There would be no groceries on grocery store shelves, no clothing hanging in Walmart or products in any other store in town. It is our duty to show our appreciation and respect for the most professional person on our interstates and highways. Let's make this industry and our country truck driver friendly.

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