New HOS Rules – Not again?
October 28, 2009 by Truckdrivernews · 3 Comments
When I started driving a truck, you drove for ten hours and you rested for eight hours. What was wrong with that? Of course, I was a local driver at the time, so maybe it wasn’t good for an OTR driver, I don’t know.
Then I decided to go OTR, and they decided to change the HOS rules. What a nightmare that was, I believe drivers still today don’t understand the new HOS rules.
The split logging with the new HOS rules is a bit confusing. But, I sorta liked the new HOS rules, drive eleven hours and take ten hours off. I also loved the 34 hour restart, once you reached your seventy hours. I was OTR during this change, but I believe it was more cued at the local drivers again. I didn’t mind it, it allows for a nice break, in between shifts. Problem I seen were the dispatchers and shippers and receivers, would not communicate/coordinate and seemed the load schedules stayed the same.
Then also, the shippers and/or the receivers would leave drivers on docks for hours either loading or unloading, and it would burn your 14 hour clock up, not allowing you to drive anymore that day, after getting loaded or unloaded.
Well, guess what? They want to take a look at another changing of the rules. How much more confusing can they make them?
As a result, the rule allowed truckers to spend up to 17 more hours driving each week than previously allowed, a more than 25 percent increase over the prior rule, despite strong evidence that the increased hours would lead to more traffic fatalities and serious consequences for driver health. Today’s settlement requires the government to draft a new proposed rule governing hours of service within nine months and to publish a final rule within 21 months.
I read a so called safety advocate say that everyday a tired truck driver falls asleep at the wheel, and the results COULD be devastating. I bet there are thousands if not millions of car drivers who fall asleep at the wheel everyday, as well. Funny, you can drive a car 24 hours a day 7 days a week, if you could physically. But, you have to stop in ten hours driving a tractor trailer. What is the difference?
A four wheeler driver could fall asleep, shoot across the median strip and hit a couple other cars head on, and cause a tractor trailer to crash as well. You still get the same results! I think it is a plot, by the government to disrupt the trucking industry to cause the rest of the downfall of the United States. This new president is sure doing that on his own, LEAVE MY INDUSTRY ALONE!
Well, there not going to listen to me, so yea they are going to try and make it safer out on the roads, and make the trucker go broker, than he or she already is. It’s a shame too, this industry used to have more balls, back in the day.
We also get to deal with the NTSB recommendations for sleep apnea screening, which can cost a trucker Two – Thousand dollars just because of two pilots, that supposedly fell asleep last week. But, this video I found says they were working on their laptops.
What gives?
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I too wish they’d quit messing with the rules and agree with all of your points, save one. While I agree that the current White House seems to be doing everything in it’s power to cripple our nation, I’m not so sure about the HOS rules being part of that plan. Remember, changes have taken place long before the current administration. Now if they cut us way back to say, 8 hours of driving, I may be tasting some shoe leather.
Thanks, Todd for the comment. Yea, I know all about the change (s)
Just my crude attempt at sarcasm. I am hoping for you truckers they change for the good. But, rarely do any changes for the industry go for the truckers.