Music to drivers’ ears: Trucks ready to roll with HOS updates says PeopleNet

Dec. 31, 2014

PeopleNet announced on December 30 that it has completed all required Hours of Service (HOS) system updates on over 182,000 trucks-- in less than six days. Starting December 22, the PeopleNet Fleet Manager System and in-cab displays automatically recalculated a driver's last cycle and applied new requirements for a valid 34-Hour restart to help ensure full compliance with recent regulatory changes.

In a letter to all affected customers, PeopleNet noted that: “Effective immediately, once a driver completes a Logout/Leave/Login on their display, the system will automatically recalculate the driver's last cycle (last 7 or 8 days) and apply the new requirements for a 34-Hour restart. This process will clear all invalid cycle violations and provide the correct cycle hours available both on the in-cab display and on the PeopleNet Fleet Manager.”

In their letter to customers, PeopleNet provided the following specific instructions for activating the updates:

“Understanding that the suspension went into effect on 12/16/2014, PeopleNet wants to ensure that the drivers’ cycle hours are calculated using a valid restart. In order to ensure compliance, please prepare your drivers to follow the instructions as outlined below:

For those drivers that completed their last 34-Hour Off Period on 12/14/2014 or 12/15/2014:

If operating on a US Federal 60/7 Cycle: Drivers should complete: a Logout/Leave/Login after your terminal start time on December 23, 2014.

If operating on a US Federal 70/8 Cycle: Drivers should complete: a Logout/Leave/Login after your terminal start time on December 24, 2014.
For those drivers that have taken a 34-Hour Off period on or after 12/16/2014, please advise that they can complete a Logout/Leave/Login at any time.”

President Obama suspended enforcement of certain sections of the US Federal 34-Hour Restart provisions on December 16, 2014, including provisions of the 34-hour restart rule that had limited truck drivers to using the restart only once a week and had required them to take two consecutive 1:00 to 5:00 a.m. rest periods in that time.

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), sponsored the legislation requiring the rollback of the latest restart provisions, attaching the measure to the omnibus spending package. Referred to as the “Collins Amendment,” the restart measure also requires the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to carry out a “real world” study to assess the operational, safety, health and fatigue effects of those provisions of the Hours of Service regulations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began its electronic logging mandate rulemaking process in 1998. And the beat goes on.

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.