The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released the long awaited field study on the current hours of service rule. The FMCSA has concluded that the two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. requirements of the restart cause truck operators to drive safer and be better rested. It goes on to say,
“This new study confirms the science we used to make the hours-of-service rule more effective at preventing crashes that involve sleepy or drowsy truck drivers,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. “For the small percentage of truckers that average up to 70 hours of work a week, two nights of rest is better for their safety and the safety of everyone on the road.”
The Battle Continues
The debate of the new HOS rules isn’t over yet. Rep. Richard Hanna and the American Trucking Associations, continue to criticise the most recent HOS rule.
“Considering the study arrived four months late, I expected a robust report, but the study is worthless,” Hanna said. “The study’s narrow scope does not address perhaps the most serious issue that could change the entire outcome of the study — forcing truckers to work in the morning rush hour when roads are most congested and dangerous.”
Dave Osiecki, ATA’s chief of national advocacy, said “the study’s analysis is incomplete and does not provide justification for the rule’s provisions.”
We’d like to know what you think.
