FMCSA’s Proposed Changes to Hours-of-Service Rules for Commercial Truckers Will Hopefully Decrease The Number of US Truck Accidents
After unveiling its proposed changes to its hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is now welcoming commentary on the proposal. The new rules were created to make the roads even safer and decrease the number of truck crashes.
Our Charlotte, North Carolina tractor-trailer accident lawyers would love to see the number of catastrophic collisions go down. We represent victims and their families throughout the state who have been injured or lost a love done in a large truck crash.
The proposed rule changes includes provisions that:
• Reduce a trucker’s allowed on-duty time to 13 hours.
• Lower daily drive time by 1 hour to 10 hours/day.
• Allow for a 14-hour workday that includes an hour long break.
• Give a trucker the option of working a 16-hour shift two times a week to make time for the unloading and loading of cargo.
• Allow for time off spent in a parked truck to count as off-duty time.
Although the 34-restart would stay the same, a trucker would only be able to avail of it once in seven days and it must include two overnight rest periods. The restart lets a driver work a 60- to 70- hour shift after breaking for 34 hours straight.
Already, members of the trucking industry have stepped up to criticize the proposed changes. The American Trucking Association has said that the US Department of Transportation “missed the mark” with its proposal that not only places “unnecessary restrictions on truck drivers, but also would substantially lower the industry’s productivity.
Proposed Rulemaking for Hour-of-Service, FMCSA
Trucking industry unhappy with proposed drive time rules, The City Wire, December 27, 2010
Related Web Resources:
American Trucking Association
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
