Logistics group labels HOS rules as unfair

The International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) is talking to a congressional committee in hopes of loosening the new hours-of-service (HOS) rules. IWLA proposes an amendment be created to allow short-haul drivers to operate under the old HOS rules.

IWLA's request was made in a recent letter sent to the United States House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Subcommittee on Highways, Transit, and Pipelines.

The rule is unfair to short-haul carriers, the warehouse and logistics outsourcing association said.

“This imposition of an inflexible, 14 consecutive hours on-duty limit gives no consideration as to how much of the on-duty time an operator may actually spend in non-driving activities,” said Joel Hoiland, president and chief executive officer of IWLA.

The new rules, which reduce the maximum on-duty time of truck drivers from 15 to 14 hours per shift, are not practical because most of the driver's time is spent waiting for loads to be taken on and off the truck, IWLA said.

HOS will have a detrimental effect on drivers, IWLA warns.

“Unfortunately, the new rules can have the opposite effect of turning what previously was a one-day trip into a multi-day journey,” Hoiland said.