Page 21 - ATR 2 2014 web

The sleep police

Industry calls for delays in Fed’s monitoring of drivers’ rest

By Steve Brawner

Contributing Writer

How much sleep does a truck
driver need? When should a driver
sleep? Who should monitor a driver’s
rest period? Whether it’s the much-
discussed hours-of-service rules or
still-to-come rules on sleep apnea, the
sleep police are keeping their eyes on
the trucking industry.
Under rules that took effect
last July 1, states may – but are not
required to – adopt federal hours-of-
service rules. Most states have simply
adopted the federal rules, while some
have adopted their own rules and oth-
ers have their own definitions of “com-
mercial motor vehicle.”
Some of the new rules actually
increased potential work time. Rules
adopted in February 2012, activities
once considered “on duty,” such as
resting in a parked vehicle, are now
considered “off duty.”
But the rest of the rules have
drawn widespread questioning by the
industry. Under the new rules, drivers’
duty days can be no more than 14 con-
secutive hours, with only 11 of those many drivers already were taking Administration (FMCSA) is supposed to
hours spent on the road. Once a driver breaks at least that often. make allowances, Hansen said.
reaches 70 hours of on-duty time in an Explosives haulers can remain Especially controversial has been the
eight-day period or 60 hours in seven on duty during their break because 34-hour restart rule. Under the old rules,
days, he must stop driving. they must attend to their loads. But a driver could restart their hours any
Drivers are limited to eight hours other hazmat haulers are required to time they rested for 34 straight hours.
of driving between rest breaks of at go off duty, and that’s causing prob- In fact, they could do it multiple times a
least 30 minutes. The next day begins lems for those other hazmat haul- week. Under the new regulations, driv-
10 hours after that 14 hours ends. ers because they need the loads to be ers who have been on the road for seven
No hard data has been collected on watched. There’s also a conflict with consecutive days can restart their week
the rule’s effectiveness yet, accord- the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials after 34 consecutive hours of rest includ-
ing to Daren Hansen, senior editor of Safety Administration rules that require ing two rest periods from 1 a.m. until 5
transportation safety with J. J. Keller a certain amount of attendance, for
& Associates. However, Hansen said which the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

aRkaNSaS tRuckiNg RepoRt | issue 2 2014 21