FMCSA’s circus act

Feb. 8, 2016
Multiple ongoing studies will determine the fate of HOS

I write this column to you fresh off the holiday break and realize that you will inevitably be reading this at some point in February. I have been writing this column for years, so some months are harder to find information or topics to write about and at other times, there is so much information available on a particular subject that this column practically writes itself.

This is one of those times. 

Going into the holidays, our industry celebrated, commended and extolled the virtues of upholding the 34-hour restart language that appeared in the Federal Omnibus spending bill. Clearly, without sound data to support a change that could revert back to the old language or something entirely new, our industry enjoys the practical and safe approach to the restart provision that we operate under today. 

That being said, as you read this column, data from a study is being presented to, and will be reviewed by, the Office of Inspector General. That study accumulated data that could support the contention that we as an industry were “as safe or safer” under the “old restart rule”. Old restart rule being an operative phrase because there are several old rules to which we could be referring.

Now, were you actually able to decipher the previous statement? If so, then you are well on your way to understanding the situation at hand; however, there is so much more to it than just a restart study.

In what appears to be an unprecedented time of studying the hours-of-service rules, our industry is embarking on data gathering and research that can only best be described as what my collegiate career consisted of—studying, studying and even more studying.  (C’mon, my parents may be reading this.)  

Virginia Tech is embarking on a sleeper berth flexibility study that could provide data on the effects of splitting up the sleeper portion of the hours-of-service regulations. A separate study on the viability of the 30-minute break period is already in the works. Of course, we must also consider research on detention time and sleep apnea as possibly having an effect on a driver’s hours of service.

The only metaphor that I can come up with right now is one of a circus clown juggling several balls in the air at one time. Once the balls stop going round and round, the act is over. As these studies conclude, where will we as an industry stand with our hours-of-service regulations?

Data is king and sound science should always determine the best course of action when it comes to sensible regulations.

That being said, it appears as if that is exactly what FMCSA is attempting to corral—copious amounts of data that will support or refute almost any and every provision of the hours-of-service regulations in hopes that it will determine once and for all that we are as safe or safer than we ever have been.

While we as an industry have always provided information and data anecdotally, our hope is that every attempt to collect this data will prove that we knew all along what we were talking about. The development of a legally defendable, operationally effective safety record improving the hours-of-service regulation is what’s at stake here.

Time and sound data will always tell the true story in what we as an industry have always anecdotally said.  We need an hours-of-service rule that demonstrates operational efficiency under optimum and non-negotiable safety benefits. Until that happens, I am afraid we will almost always be confused when we speak of old versus new hours-of-service regulations.   

About the Author

David Heller

David Heller is the senior vice president of safety and government affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association. Heller has worked for TCA since 2005, initially as director of safety, and most recently as the VP of government affairs. Before that, he spent seven years as manager of safety programs for American Trucking Associations.

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