The Trucker 060120

THETRUCKER.COM
b HOS from page 1 b
driving for up to two additional hours to reach
their destination or to a place of safety. Those extra
two hours, however, had to be driven within
the 14-hour window. Since the 14-hour window
wasn’t extended, drivers often couldn’t take advantage
of the extra driving hours. Under the revised
rules, the 14-hour period is extended, up to
16 hours, if the two additional hours of driving
are needed.
Finally, the short-haul exemption, excusing
drivers from logging (ELD or paper) if they return
to their home terminal and don’t exceed the
area of a 100-air-mile radius, has been changed
to extend the radius to 150 miles. Further, the
12-hour work period is extended to 14 hours,
matching short-haul drivers’ over-the-road counterparts.
This exemption may benefit drivers who
have local routes and are home each night.
Any or all of the proposed revisions could be
held up or eliminated if legal action threatened
by safety-advocacy groups actually takes place.
The 232-page FMCSA release of the final
rule contains the statement, “The flexibilities in
this final rule are intended to allow drivers to
shift their drive and work time to mitigate the
impacts of certain variables (e.g., weather, traffic,
detention times, etc.) and to take breaks without
penalty when they need to rest.”
The announced changes were welcome news
to drivers and organizations that had long fought
for the revisions. The Owner-Operator Independent
Drivers Association (OOIDA) submitted a
request to amend the HOS rules in February 2018.
The OOIDA request included expanding the
shorter period of the rest break to three hours without
counting the time against the 14-hour clock.
The OOIDA request asked for elimination of the
30-minute rest break, which was not granted. Instead,
the parameters of the break were changed to
lessen the impact to the driver’s schedule.
Other petitioners for the rules changes Included
TruckerNation, the United States Transportation
Alliance (USTA) and the United Drivers
Association (UDA). These organizations and
others submitted favorable comments during the
prescribed comment period.
Also submitting comments, but opposed
to the revisions, were the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB), the National Safety
Council (NSC), the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine (AASM), Advocates, RoadSafe America,
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Rep.
Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the International Brotherhood
of Teamsters (IBT) and the Truck Safety
Coalition (TSC).
Reaction to the announced rule changes, as
expected, has been mixed.
Chris Spear, CEO of American Trucking Associations
(ATA), said, “[The new] rule is the result
of a two-year, data-driven process, and it will
result in needed flexibility for America’s professional
truck drivers while maintaining the safety
of our roads.”
Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) issued
a press release that included the statement, “TCA
applauds the (FMCSA) for taking an active role
in receiving input from all stakeholders to craft
flexible regulations for the industry while still
improving safety, and for also expediting this
rule change to provide the maximum benefit.”
The general president of the Teamsters Union
(IBT), James Hoffa, wasn’t celebrating.
“In an effort to increase so-called ‘flexibility’
for trucking companies, the FMCSA is abandoning
safety and allowing drivers to push themselves
to the limit even further,” Hoffa said in a
press release.
OOIDA, which began this round of HOS revision
with a request to amend, issued a statement
that included this thought from Todd Spencer, the
organization’s president: “The hours-of-service
regulations for commercial truck drivers need to
be updated to match the realities of freight movement
and to truly improve highway safety.”
Spencer noted that the FMCSA is “finally listening”
and urged “real truckers” to participate
in the rulemaking process, “so that the next incarnation
of the hours-of-service regulations is
not written by corporate trucking executives and
anti-trucking groups that have no understanding
of the realities of over-the-road trucking.”
If social-media comments are any indication,
a general mistrust of the FMCSA dampened enthusiasm
for the new rules. One commenter, identified
as G JA Segura said, “So they changed it
from a choke chain to a tight dog collar.” Another,
Chester Gault, wasn’t convinced. “That’s no real
change” he posted. “Doesn’t do any good.” James
Hart agreed. “Yeah, they made a change,” he said.
“But it doesn’t help the driver at all.”
Many of the social-media comments, a large
percentage of them unprintable due to language,
were critical of the FMCSA and of U.S. Secretary
of Transportation Elaine Chao. Others
expressed that action on freight rates was more
important than HOS reform.
Jeremy Johnson, founder and administrator
of the 8,800-member The Disrespected Trucker
Facebook group, likes the changes but wishes
they had gone further.
“It does add a little bit of flexibility, but they
can’t seem to get it through their heads that the
14-hour clock isn’t a good idea,” Johnson said.
About the new 7/3 break period split, he wondered
why the agency had to dictate the length
of rest periods. “It’s not all bad, but give us the
option of how we want to split our day,” he said.
Kevin Steichen, president and co-founder
of the United States Transportation Alliance
(USTA), thought it best to withhold judgment
until fully reading the 232-page FMCSA release.
“It’s a good start,” Steichen said. “It does allow
for a little more flexibility in how drivers use
their hours.” Steichen cautioned against driver
negativity. “It’s a little early for anyone to be
picking it apart. Knee-jerk reactions don’t get us
anywhere,” he said.
Steichen noted that no regulation will please
everyone.
“The problem is that with the HOS, there
isn’t a ‘one size fits all,’” he said, pointing out the
trucking diversity found just on the USTA board.
“We’re all owner-operators,” he said, “but I’m
pulling a livestock trailer, Ingrid (Brown, safety
chair) is pulling refrigerated, Mike (Landis, CEO)
pulls a tanker and Tim (Siedschlag, vice president)
pulls heavy-haul. We’re all different.”
As previously noted, the FMCSA’s “final”
rule isn’t official until 120 days after being published
in the Federal Register, which had not yet
happened at the time of this writing. The 120-
day period is to allow for training of enforcement
agencies and updating of ELD equipment. Legal
actions filed by the opponents of the changes
could delay implementation further or result in
further revisions.
No matter how the revisions are received,
one thing is for certain; Trucking regulations will
continue to evolve along with the industry and
the world it serves. 8
Nation June 1-14, 2020 • 11
New TA Express now open in Mount Vernon, Texas
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
MOUNT VERNON, Texas — TravelCenters
of America has opened a new TA Express in
Mount Vernon, Texas. Formerly Duke’s Travel
Plaza, the newly branded TA Express is at 300
SE Access Road, at exit 147 off Interstate 30.
This new location expands the company’s total
nationwide network of travel centers to 266.
Services and amenities include:
• 53 truck parking spaces.
• Ample auto parking.
• Diesel fueling with RFID and DEF at
all lanes.
• Gasoline fueling lanes.
• Private showers.
• Laundry room.
• Drivers’ lounge.
• Elaborate dog park.
• Travel store.
Dining options include the Cotton Belt BBQ,
Taco Casa and an on-site deli with freshly prepared,
made-to-go options. 8
Courtesy: TravelCenters of America
This new TravelCenters of America location
expands the company’s total nationwide network
of travel centers to 266.
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