The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed major changes to the trucking hours-of-service (HOS) regulations, which if implemented would give carriers and drivers more flexibility in how they operate.
The long-awaited proposal resulted from operational restrictions caused by the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate that went into effect between December 2017 and April 2018.
“This proposed rule seeks to enhance safety by giving America’s commercial drivers more flexibility while maintaining the safety limits on driving time,” commented U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao in unveiling the changes on August 14.
“We listened directly to the concerns of drivers for rules that are safer and have more flexibility – and we have acted,” commented FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez. “We encourage everyone to review and comment on this proposal.”
The rulemaking seeks public comment on five key changes to the regulation:
- Increasing flexibility for the 30-minute break rule by tying the break requirement to eight hours of driving time without an interruption for at least 30 minutes, and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using on-duty, not driving status, rather than off-duty.
- Modifying the sleeper-berth exception to allow drivers to split their required 10 hours off duty into two periods: one period of at least seven consecutive hours in the sleeper berth; and the other period of not less than two consecutive hours, either off duty or in the sleeper berth. According to the proposal, neither period would count against the driver’s 14‑hour driving window.
- Allowing one off-duty break of at least 30 minutes, but not more than three hours, that would pause a truck driver’s 14-hour driving window, provided the driver takes 10 consecutive hours off-duty at the end of the work shift.
- Modifying the adverse driving conditions exception by extending by two hours the maximum window during which driving is permitted.
- Changing the short-haul exception by lengthening the drivers’ maximum on‑duty period from 12 hours to 14 hours and extending the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.
In noting that the proposed changes are also meant to improve safety, FMCSA pointed out that the operational flexibility provided by the changes would provide an estimated $274 million in savings for the U.S. economy and American consumers. In addition, the rule changes “would not increase driving time and would continue to prevent [commercial drivers] from driving for more than eight consecutive hours without at least a 30-minute change in duty status,” according to the agency.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) praised the government’s initiative to consider revisions to the current rules. “We look forward to studying and understanding how these proposed changes will impact our industry so we can provide relevant data and information to strengthen and support a good final rule that bolsters safety and provides drivers needed flexibility,” said ATA President Chris Spear said in a statement.
A public comment period will be open for 45 days after the proposed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register.
Kairu
The FMCA seems to be out of work to do.
The changes mentioned are not from people who operate these equipment.
Were the owner operators and the driving force in this industry listen too?
Marcella Miller
I totally agree
TERRY palmer
This does not help the safety out here nor does it help the driver in anyway!do away with the 30min going against us ,put our time back on the clock of setting loading and unloading 30min at the dock should stop the 14 hr and if a driver need to stop for any reason during a trip ! We are the one’s out here that knows what we can do or not do ,you want safty then put safety where it needs to be ! Because there is nothing safe on any of this your trying to pass ,we’re working men and women out here just like you all are and it’s up to us to keep America going you want Safety then stop talking all our rights away 49 years out here all safe and that was without all your Unsafe rules telling someone what they can do or not do !you can’t drive one of these trucks from behind a desk in DC so put the clock back where we can run it and not y’all then we might get safety back out here and driver’s maybe will get along again .the Safty issues are you FMCSA stop and look all the wrecks with your stupid law you say is for safety 49 years out here and I can tell you this ! It’s the crap you have put on us that clock should stop any time we need to stop it and not count again us the clock is going to stay there then let us run it and not y’all ! If not things only going to get worse.this is me 49years safe driving
Danno McCabe
Impressive 49 yrs safe driving. Thats hard especially when you cant control what some other drivers in truck, car or motorbike might do to cause accident. Well done Sir!
Deb
Get rid of the 30 minute break requirement. All it does is keeps people from stopping within the first 3 hours of drive time so they don’t have to take another one. Also it causes some to push to make it to a certain distance before stopping.
ABEL HERRERA
FMCSA……DON’T KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TRUCKING
Ron Higgins
Has anyone at the Department of Transportation every actually seen the inside of a semi or every driven over the road? Your not helping make the highways any safer just making drivers like myself want out of the drivers seat. I’ve been driving for 35 plus years with an excellent record and the only thing I see is people making speeches about the new changes and how they are making our nations highways safer then giving themselves a pat on the back with a great job. If your changes are doing great then how come the marquis signs keep reading the highways death tolls rising every year. Maybe it’s not just trucks and truck drivers you should be trying to over regulate. Look at the whole picture Department of Transportation. What about cars on the roadways or shippers and receivers. As professional truck drivers we have to know about all those things and an entire little green book full of other things but none of those things know anything about us or the trucks we drive.
Donovan Liddell
Making changes is always good but you have to listen to ask driver sometimes I’ve been in the dock as long as five to six hours which kills my clock because my drive time is ticking away we need more hours a day to work. And be paid for their time we’re stuck at shipper receivers
Bobby
The thirty minute break is a complete waste of time and money in fuel think about just 1000 trucks idling for thirty minutes for just one week sometime when you must stop for the break due to time ending on your clock now you travel twenty miles down the road now it’s time to stop for fuel,Lord have mercy why can’t you all understand the trucking industry
Melinda Cresap
Hours of service is regulated “Federally” roads are regulated/repaired by the State in which you drive.
Two separate issues…
However, Trucking companies and Owner Operators get the short end of the stick on both ends.. Higher PUC’s to fix road that don’t get fixed, higher fuel cost that go to other causes, and stricter guidelines that leaves less profit margin and Shippers/Receivers that continuously refuse the pay the cost that it actually cost to operate a commercial truck.
Ron Driscoll
Again they didn’t fix anything when it comes right down to it except put more money in the ATA’s pocket when it comes to short haul side which will in the long run cause more fatigue on those driver’s aka: container haulers ect. It’s all about what the ATA wants, big conglomerates who don’t have a clue to the independent owner ops out here or the government even listening to the independent driver’s. So in a nut shell, the ATA conglomerates will be able to count a few more pennys while they cry there is a driver’s shortage cause they don’t pay their driver’s squat nor treat them like a person. All they care about is the quantity of freight they can move. There wasn’t one thing listed above when it boils down to it about safety. Just like being dot these days and the cars are blowing the speed limit by 10 to 15 over, big trucks are easy targets bigger money and they don’t have to go to traffic court when they don’t write tickets to cars who are actually breaking the law like most law enforcement as well blowing that speed limit. Want to do something about safety? Start by enforcing the speed limit on the interstates.
Shawn
They dont listen to the owner ops because they are such a very small percentage of the overall picture.the industry would survive without them if they disappeared. Sorry buts truth is truth
Gonzalo Silva
Two more years of this bull shit.