Over
my 20 plus years in law enforcement, I've seen a lot of bad law, but I've never
seen such a potentially dangerous, set of laws, rules, and regulations
as the current Hours of Service (HOS). The powers to be just keep making more
and more laws. More laws don't automatically make things safer, they just
make more violators. These laws also have ridicules penalties in the event
of an accident.
When I initially started looking into this, I saw a lot of frustration with drivers that could not make their delivery and pickup times and still comply with the HOS.
My first reaction was to do away with the HOS. I based this on the principle that stupid hurts and stupidity is self enforcing. Then I realized that rules can also be used to protected the drivers from dispatchers. My second reaction was to limit driving to a 9-5, 8 hours a day like most to the rest of the civilized world, but I knew truckers wouldn't go for that.
Next I started looking into the company that I drive for. They are sticklers for complying with the HOS. I enjoy working a straight 14 hour day. I normally start at about 8am and about 9pm I start looking for a place to park.
The problem comes when you add in the variable of the human body. Occasionally I wake up at 5 or 6 am. I'm wide awake, but I can't drive until 8am, because I haven't reached the 10 hours yet. A worse situation, is if you become tried for some reason in the middle of the afternoon. A short safety nap would be perfect, but that would take away hours of valuable driving time needed to get your load delivered on time the next day. If you take a short safety nap and it cuts time out of your 14 hour day or your 11 hours of driving, there is no way to make that time up before the delivery and contract law isn't going to look to favorably on you for being late, because you took a nap in the middle of the afternoon.
Another HOS problem is in the short haul market
where appointments are set by the dispatcher while trying to set up a route for a
driver. One driver told me about his day. He picked up at 8am, drove about
100 miles for a 2pm drop and the second drop was 50 miles from there at 7pm.
He then needed to drive about 75 miles for a 3am pickup and a 9am deliver 100
miles from there. He said he had no problem doing this, because he got a
lot of rest and hardly ever drove more than 2 hours at a time. His main
complaints was the lack of pay at $.33 per mile and the fear of some ridicules
prosecution if he ever did get into accident, because he was always adjusting
his books so they looked legal.
Solution
First keep the rule that a driver can drive 11 hours within 14 hours after having 10 hours off, but allow a safety break in the sleeper berth if needed and identify it as a safety break. The safety break would not count toward the 14 hours and could be adjusted off the 10 hours. There is no way to write a guideline for this rule. Safety is the goal and common sense has to rule the rule and don't abuse it. This rule is not meant to be used daily or even regularly.
Secondly add a second "OR" rule that a driver can drive up to 9 hours in any given 24 hour period. When using this rule a full 10 hours off would be required before reverting back to the 11 hours of driving within 14 hours rule.
70 Hour rule
My only real problem with the 70 hour rule is that it encourages unsafe driving. Frequently I get weekend runs in the 600 - 700 mile range. If you want or need the 36 hour restart you need to push time, speed, and distance on Saturday, just so you can sit all day in a truck stop on Sunday.
Solution
Allow a restart after 2 days that have a total of 12 hours or less of driving. Two six hour days at a slower speed is safer then the one day push.