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22 • SEPTEMBER 2023 JOB RESOURCES Thetrucker.com OWNING THE WHEEL FMCSA’s ‘adverse conditions’ rule can be a valuable tool if used correctly CLIFF ABBO<strong>TT</strong> | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Everything’s going great — you’re even ahead of schedule, cruising along in moderate traffic, enjoying the day. Then it happens. Brake lights ahead indicate stopped traffic … and there it is: a highway clusterfuddle in the middle of nowhere. So, there you sit, creeping inch by inch toward your destination instead of cruising along on the open road. By the time you finally get through all the traffic and spot the two smashed-up fourwheelers that caused the whole mess, sitting on the shoulder of the highway, your schedule is shot. You no longer have enough hours to legally and safely complete the trip because of hours-of-service rules. Or do you? Thanks to a little-understood provision in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (better known as the FMCSRs), you just might have up to two extra hours of driving. Your 14- hour drive/work period can also be extended by up to two hours. Unfortunately, some drivers don’t understand this rule and avoid using it to stay away from logging violations. At the other extreme are drivers who use the provision often but use it incorrectly, inviting problems later when logs are audited. A third group understands and uses the provision but isn’t clear on how to record it. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, adverse driving conditions are defined as “snow, ice, sleet, fog, or other adverse weather conditions or unusual road or traffic conditions that were not known, or could not have reasonably been known, to a driver immediately prior to beginning the duty day, or immediately before beginning driving after a qualifying rest break or sleeper berth period, or to a motor carrier immediately prior to dispatching the driver.” Notice the “unusual road or traffic conditions” part of that rule. Before claiming the extra driving and onduty time, the first question a driver should ask is whether the condition was (or could have been) known before the driving day began. Weather, for example, is predicted almost constantly by government agencies and reported frequently by media outlets. If heavy snow was predicted for your route yesterday, you won’t be able to claim extra time for the adverse conditions you faced. The standard is “could not have reasonably been known,” so claiming you didn’t hear a weather report won’t work as an excuse. The information was available, if you had looked for it. On the other hand, if the weather report had called for rain, but the temperature dropped lower than expected and the rain turned into a surprise snowstorm, that’s a legitimate use of the exemption. Another example is traffic congestion. If your trip takes you along I- 80/94 south of Chicago and into northwest Indiana at 5:30 in the afternoon, you won’t be able to claim that traffic congestion was a surprise. Every driver knows to expect heavy traffic during rush hour in a metro area. On the other hand, a backup caused by an accident on I-80 in rural Iowa isn’t as predictable and could be used for the exemption. Things you definitely can’t use to extend driving and working hours are events like delays in loading or unloading, breakdowns, personal illness, etc. As any professional driver knows, traffic backups can occur anywhere, and for a variety of reasons. Vehicle collisions are often the cause, as is construction, nature events such as rock or mudslides, trees falling into the roadway, stoppages for presidential motorcades and a host of others. As long as you could not have known before your trip or your latest driving period, began, you can claim the extra time. Another caveat of the exemption is that, in order to claim the extra time, you be able to prove you would have been able to finish your trip within the regulated hours had the adverse condition not occurred. If it’s Wednesday and your delivery is scheduled for Friday, you can’t drive extra time due to adverse conditions. It only applies if you can reach your delivery without another rest break. Something to remember about using the adverse driving conditions exemption is that the reason claimed for driving the extra hours can — and will — be checked. Law enforcement iStock Photo Thanks to a little-understood provision in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, drivers may have up to two extra hours of drive time available when an unexpected event causes delays. personnel usually have computers that are connected to state offices, or at least radio contact with people who have access. Your claim of a huge traffic jam at mile marker 162 caused by loose cows in the roadway can be checked, and you can receive a citation if it can’t be shown as legitimate. You can argue, of course, but a day in the courtroom, even if you win your case, can still cost you a day’s pay plus travel and potential lodging expenses. You’ll want to save all the evidence you can about your reason for claiming the exemption. Carriers often use outside services to check electronic log data and alert their safety department or other designated staff when carrier-specified events occur. For example, if you work for a large carrier that had 50 trucks travel the same stretch of highway that day and you’re the only one who claimed the hours-ofservice exemption because of a traffic backup (or a tornado, or a blizzard), your version of events could be questioned. Again, the answer is to document the event as best you can. You can use the internet to search for and save stories about the event. Weather events are often newsworthy, especially if they are severe. A screenshot of a page from the state’s department of transportation website reporting unexpected events could be helpful. Photos from your phone, in certain conditions, may be enough, especially if you can get mile marker signs or other location information in the picture. You don’t need to spend hours building a case, but it doesn’t hurt to save evidence to back up your claim of adverse driving conditions. Finally, remember that the additional hours you claim will still count against your seven- or eight-day totals. You could run out of available hours sooner than expected. The exception to the hours of service for adverse driving conditions is a great tool that can save the day when on-time delivery is at stake, but it must be used correctly to avoid violations of the regulations and, in some cases, carrier policies. For drivers who know how to use the rule and document the exceptions, it can be a great tool in the professional driver’s toolbox. 8 Werner driver celebrates achievement of 5 million accident-free miles THE TRUCKER NEWS STAFF OMAHA, Neb. — Werner is celebrating driver Tim Dean, who has traveled 5 million miles without an accident. Dean joins Werner driver Charley Endorf as only the second driver in company history to reach this milestone. To honor Dean’s accomplishment, Werner recently hosted a ceremony at its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. The average professional truck driver drives about 2 million miles over the course of their career, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Driving 5 million accident-free miles is equivalent to driving around the world more than 200 times. “Today, we have the pleasure of showcasing what greatness looks like in the daily work of the American professional driver,” said Derek Leathers, Werner’s chairman, president and CEO. “It’s the accomplishment of waking up every day, working hard and delivering goods that matter, both safely and on time, to those who have entrusted us to do so,” he continued. “We commend Tim for his contributions to Werner and the industry as a whole and are incredibly proud of him for his unwavering commitment to safety over the last 35 years. We look forward to Tim’s continued success on the road as a professional driver, one safe mile at a time.” Dean joined Werner in 1988 and has received numerous accolades during his tenure with the company. In 2009-10, he served as an ATA America’s Road Team Captain, and he has served as a Werner Road Team Captain and mentor since 2005. For 22 years, Dean has competed in the Nebraska Truck Driving Championships, placing first in his class nine times and earning Grand Champion honors in 2012 and 2018. He was awarded the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance IDEA (International Driver Excellence Award) in 2019. In addition, Dean was named the Nebraska Trucking Association’s Driver of the Year in 2019. 8 Courtesy: Werner Werner driver Tim Dean has traveled 5 million accident-free miles.
Thetrucker.com JOB RESOURCES SEPTEMBER 2023 • 23 Colorado officials offer safety tips for truckers on mountain passes THE TRUCKER NEWS STAFF DENVER — Dryer roads and mild weather can mean safer driving conditions for most motorists. However, when traveling through Colorado’s mountains, truck drivers can encounter challenging, dangerous conditions regardless of the weather. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) warns big rig drivers to use extreme caution when traveling over mountain passes, such as U.S. 160 through Wolf Creek Pass in the southwest part of the state. “This time of year, the weather is an unlikely factor in big-rig accidents. Instead, we are seeing loss of brakes or control on the steep downgrades of mountain passes,” said Colorado State Patrol Capt. John Trentini. “From 2015 to 2021, there have been 54 semitruck crashes on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass. Three of those crashes resulted in needless fatalities.” Most of the crashes happened at the switchback curve near the Wolf Creek scenic lookout area. “Even with much of this pass being three and four lanes wide and having ample shoulders, it is necessary to maintain control by keeping low speeds and staying in lower gears,” said Kenneth Quintana, CDOT’s maintenance superintendent. “These road features can be deceiving, and many drivers find themselves out-of-control once they’ve made it halfway down the pass.” CDOT urges all roadway users, especially commercial truck drivers to take time to familiarize themselves with their route. Check the posted speed limit, the grade of the pass and be aware of particularly dangerous curves. In addition, it’s important to know the location of brake stations, chain-up stations and runaway ramps. These tips can help truckers maintain control of their rigs: • Check brakes before descending the pass. • Maintain a low speed, in low gear. Use flashers to warn other vehicles of the truck’s low speed. • Do not “ride” the truck’s brakes. This will cause overheating and possible loss of the brake system. • Jake Brakes (or compression brakes) can be a useful braking mechanism to help control the speed of a heavy truck. However, the best practice is to remain in low gear to avoid overheating. • Keep brakes cool by pulling into brake stations or onto the shoulder of the road, if a safe spot can be located. If drivers must use a runaway ramp: • Maneuver the trucks into the far-right lane before approaching upgrade ramps. • As the truck approaches the runaway ramp, steer straight and try to keep the wheels aligned. • Ramps are narrow. Attempt to stay in the center of the ramp to avoid any risk of rolling over. • Once the truck is stopped, call 911 to report the incident, even if there are no injuries iStock Photo Steep mountain passes in Colorado and other areas of the country present unique challenges for truck drivers, regardless of the weather and road conditions. associated with the episode. “If a truck driver has lost control, there should never be hesitation to use the runaway ramps,” Capt. Trentini said. “If a truck’s brakes fail due to overheating or excessive use going downhill, runaway ramps are the only way the truck will be able to stop.” Truckers should also consider the load they are hauling. The goods carried on the trucks and in the trailers are essentially the drivers’ income, and there should be great concern protecting that commodity. “There may be monetary consequences for using a runaway ramp — potential fees associated with a tow company’s removal of the truck from the ramp or perhaps even a law enforcement fine,” Trentini said. “But not using the ramp can result in the ultimate cost: the irreplaceable life of a driver or the lives of those they share the road with.” 8 EARN OVER $ 90,000/year! DRy VAN cOmpANy W2 AND LEAsE puRchAsE 1099 – REgiONAL AND DEDicAtED DRiVER REQuiREmENts: 22 Years of Age - 12 Months of Class A Experience No More than 3 Moving Violations in 3 Years ✔✔ ✔ ✔ DRiVER cOmpENsAtiON: Earn Over $90,000 Per Year!! $0.60-$0.62/mile based on experience & home time for all loaded & empty miles ✔ ✔ $5,000 Sign-On Bonus for 1099 ✔ ✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ ✔✔ $500 Orientation Pay 2022-2024 Freightliners and Internationals stocked with APU/Opti-Idle, Inverter, and some trucks have fridges. DRiVER ADVANtAgEs: 30:1 Dispatcher ratio – easily reach your driver manager! Contracted freight -- don’t wait on brokers to plan you. Regional Running – You don’t have to go far from home to make your miles. Updated Equipment – RTI’s updated equipment base means you will spend less time in the shop. (877) 795-3715 RIVERSIDETRANSPORT.COM
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