ATA makes its case for suspension of HOS 34-hour restart in appropriations bill

Late last week, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said it has called on members of Congress in an effort to cast off what it described as “misinformation” over truck safety while asking Congress to sign off on an appropriations bill that would provide regulatory relief for the trucking sector, specifically focusing on truck driver hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.

“In July 2013, with insufficient research, analysis and understanding of the consequences, the Obama administration placed two restrictions on America’s truck drivers that increased the risk of crashes on America’s highways,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves in a statement. “Senator Susan Collins, and a bipartisan majority of Senate appropriators, recognized the flaws in the changes put forth by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and voted to approve a common sense ‘time out’ to allow for proper research to be conducted. This isn’t a rider being added in the middle of the night at the 11th hour as some would have the public believe. This reasonable solution allows the government to do the research it should have done ahead of time and gives the industry the flexibility thousands of fleets and millions of drivers are pleading for,” Graves said.

In June 2014, an amendment from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee ahead of signing off on a $54.4 billion Fiscal Year 2015 federal transportation bill.

The goal of the mandate is to suspend the new HOS restart rules for one year and during that time have the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study the rule during that time to analyze its safety benefits and provide an understanding if how the restart changes impact drivers, as well as safety and productivity issues in trucking.

The restart rules require truckers who maximize their weekly work hours must 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 allows drivers to restart the clock on their workweek 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.

Since the new HOS rules, especially the aforementioned restart rule, took effect roughly 18 months ago trucking stakeholders have cited lost productivity due to the restart that has crimped capacity, which was already tight during the first quarter.

The ATA’s Graves explained that self-appointed trucking industry critics have used “deceptive tactics and outright lies to paint what, by any measure, is a reasonable resolution to a potentially serious safety problem.” 

The ATA has repeatedly said that the primary issue with the restart rules is that they push more trucks onto the road during daytime hours, which they said is a consequence the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration failed to fully analyze from a safety standpoint.

Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, said that the ATA’s efforts and the Collins’ amendment are “common sense solutions” that can help the industry.

Research issued in 2013 by the American Transportation Research Institute found that the 34-hour restart changes will ultimately have a net annual cost of up to $376 million as opposed to the $133 million net benefit cited by the FMCSA prior to the rules taking effect.

“The 34 hour restart [rule] is a drain on both the carrier community and the shipper one, ultimately, resulting in impacts to the end consumer,” said Jeff Brady, director of transportation for Harry & David, a multi-channel specialty retailer and producer of branded premium gift-quality fruit, gourmet food products and other gifts, in an interview earlier this year. “Trucking impacts the entire economy and with the last several decades of no cohesive highway infrastructure plans; the increases in congestion, at critical times of the day none the less, is impacting capacity. Capacity in trucking, or lack thereof, creates higher costs to get capacity commitments from an ever shrinking carrier base.”

Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx wrote in a letter to Representative Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), and Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations committees that was available on www.saferoads.org that he strongly opposes the Collins amendment that would suspend the 34-hour restart provision.

“I am compelled by the evidence available to me to implore you to reject any such suspension, he wrote. “The provision at issue is a central element of a comprehensive rule that ensures that truck drivers have adequate rest when operating on our highways. It is essential for the safety of our truck drivers and the safety of families and loved ones who share the road with them. This regulatory provision (like all other aspects of the rule) was developed based on sound data and analysis. The evidence clearly shows that truck drivers are better rested and more alert after two nights of sleep than one night, and that unending 80-hour work weeks lead to driver fatigue and compromise highway safety.”

Last January, FMCSA released its long awaited findings based on a third party study it conducted that it said provides “further scientific evidence that the restart provision in the current [HOS] rule for truck drivers is more effective at combatting fatigue than the prior version” (which had no such requirement).

This study was long awaited and part of a provision in the current federal transportation bill, MAP-21, which called for an HOS field study to expand on an FMCSA report on driver fatigue and maximum driving time requirements focusing on the 34-hour restart rule. But prior to this week, that study was not completed, despite the rules having already gone into effect.

In its study, the FMCSA explained that scientists measured sleep, reaction time, and sleepiness and said it found that drivers who kicked off their work week with only one nighttime period of rest, instead of the mandated two nights: exhibited more lapses of attention, especially at night; reported greater sleepiness, especially toward the end of their duty periods; and showed increased lane deviation in the morning, afternoon, and at night.

And the FMCSA added that working long hours on a continuing basis is associated with chronic fatigue, a high risk of crashes and various serious chronic health conditions in drivers, adding that the 34-hour restart is intended to provide sufficient time for a driver to recuperate from chronic fatigue if they work beyond the updated 34-hour restart break.

Coupled with that FMSCA noted that according to its analysis the restart rule will prevent about 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries and save 19 lives per year, with extreme driver schedules, when drivers are on the road for more than 70 hours per week, being impacted while 85 percent seeing no subsequent change in their schedules.