Recently, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that eases restrictions on the rules that govern when long-haul drivers must get their required rest. The legislation is part of the overall budget bill and suspends enforcement of the controversial 34-hour rule limiting the number of hours that truckers can be on the clock. The rule was part of a series of regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that went into effect July 1, 2013.
The regulations place limitations on long-haul commercial truck drivers. The 34-hour restart provision was one of the most opposed aspects of the new Hours of Service rules. According to the rule, truck drivers who average 70-hours a week must take a 34-hour break which includes two overnight time periods from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Drivers are required to use the 34-hour restart once every seven days.
Opponents to the regulations argued that the rule hurt industry productivity and profits while providing little to no benefit to safety. They claim that the regulation had the unintended effect of increasing the risk of truck accidents by putting more tractor-trailers on the road during peak morning driving hours, when commuters and school buses are out.
The newly amended regulation includes the provision that drivers may restart their workweek by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty, regardless of whether the break includes two periods of time between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Safety advocates strongly oppose the ease of regulations, stating that the move allows long-haul truck drivers to manipulate their schedules and work up to 82 hours per week. They say this will increase the risk of truck driver fatigue that can lead to fatal truck accidents.
More than 3,900 deaths and over 100,000 injuries were caused by truck accidents in 2012, topping a four-year upward trend. The Hours of Service regulations were projected to prevent 1,400 truck accidents per year, saving 19 lives and avoiding 560 truck accident injuries.
Because the Department of Transportation has not yet complied accident data for the past year, the effects of the regulations put into effect July 2013 are not known yet. The recently passed spending bill mandates a detailed study of the effect of regulations on the number of trucking accidents.
The terms of the annual spending bill, which includes the trucker provisions, will expire at the end of September 2015. By that time, the Department of Transportation should have data available that can measure the effect of the regulations. At that point, both sides can resume their arguments.
