New US truck driving hour rules displease all contending parties

THE US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration`s (FMCSA) new truck driving rules retains the 11-hour daily truck driving limit as before, but reduces to 70 from 82 hours the time truckers can drive in a week, reports American Shipper.

Neither trucking companies nor the union or truck safety lobby were happy with the compromise ruling, which also mandates a 30-minute breaks.


"The disappointing thing is that this process has not been driven by data; it`s been driven by political motivations," said Dan England, chairman of the American Trucking Associations, and head of Salt Lake City trucking company, CR England.


"Safety advocates and organised labour have a strong influence on this administration and so there`s been a strong sentiment to bring about a change for the benefit of these constituencies," he said.


But the union and truck safety lobby were no happier.


Said Teamsters president James P Hoffa: "We said all along that an hours of service rule has to protect highway safety and our truck drivers` health. We are reviewing the new rule, and if necessary, will determine our next course of action."


Said the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC): "The rule retained one of the most unsafe provisions of the former rule, the 11-hour work day limit for truck drivers."


On the other side, Todd Spencer, of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), representing small independents, said: "The changes are unnecessary and unwelcome and will result in no significant safety gains. This rule will have a dramatic effect on the lives and livelihoods of small-business truckers. .


"Despite the fact that trucking has never been safer, federal regulators and big businesses continue to push for mandates that hurt small-business truckers," Mr Spencer said. "According to the latest data, fatigue is a factor in only 1.4 per cent of all fatal wrecks involving truckers."


The National Industrial Transportation League, America`s biggest shipper organisation said the new rule appeared to be less aggressive that the position the FMCSA took a year ago.


Less content, was Kelly Kolb, of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). "Rather than encouraging greater efficiency, the new hours-of-service regulations will increase transportation costs, congestion and pollution by funnelling more trucks onto the road at peak driving times," she said.


Ms Kolb also pointed to a Department of Transportation (DOT) study showing traffic congestion costs the US economy US$87.2 billion a year, with 4.2 billion hours and 2.8 billion gallons of fuel spent sitting in traffic.


Said David French of the National Retail Federation: "Longer overnight breaks create the potential for more big trucks to be mixing with passenger cars during congested daylight hours. These new regulations will drive up costs for businesses and consumers while making our highways and city streets more dangerous. This is a case where something that might sound good on paper doesn`t work in the real world."