New Hours of Service rules may be on the way for truckers

[Tobin S.]

I am a trucker and I post about it frequently in the lounge. I just bought a truck a couple of months ago and I've been talking about my adventures there. A lot of people like those posts, especially when I've got some pictures to post to go along with the stories. But recent developments on the Hill are making me reconsider my choice to be an owner-operator and possibly even my career as a trucker.

A lot of people fail to think about trucking when it comes to politics and the economy, but trucking is vital to our current way of life. Changes in legislation regarding trucking not only directly affects truckers and trucking companies, it also indirectly affects everyone else in the country. There is a proposal for new hours of service (HOS) regulations currently being considered in Washington D.C. that could cut the amount of time that truckers are allowed to work. While that sounds like a pretty good deal to me sometimes, I think differently when I consider how it will affect my pay, and there aren't any regulations being proposed that would help me, or anyone in trucking, recover the lost revenue that would come from cutting HOS.

The politicians say this is all about safety and saving lives, but there is no data to support that position. According to an industry advocate magazine The Trucker, "There has been virtually no increase in the number of deaths in the 11th hour and beyond while deaths that occurred in the first hour of driving have increased at a much faster rate." Truckers are currently allowed to drive for 11 hours in a 14 hour period before having to take a 10 hour break.

Let's go over the log book rules. It's probably a pretty good bet that not very many of you are familiar with the current regulations.

For about 70 years, if I recall correctly, the HOS rules were unchanged until 2003. They were originally put into effect to protect the driver from barbaric labor practices as well as to protect the motoring public. For that period of time, drivers were allowed to drive 10 hours before having to take an 8 hour break. If the driver were to put in more hours not driving, say unloading a truck, the 8 hour break would have to start after the driver was done with any on-duty activities before he or she could drive again. Any labor was considered on duty. Drivers were not allowed to drive after working 70 hours in an 8 day period, both driving and non-driving labor combined.

In 2003 the rules changed allowing truckers to drive more. Since then, when drivers come on duty they have a 14 hour window in which they can drive 11 hours. Once the 11 hours driving or the 14 hour window is up, whichever comes first, the driver has to take a 10 hour break before driving again. A driver can perform non-driving labor after that point, but the 10 hour break must still be fulfilled before the trucker can drive again. The 70 hour rule remained unchanged, however, a driver can take 34 consecutive hours off and have a fresh 70 hours to work with now.

And now for the question that a lot of you are probably thinking: Do drivers cheat? Yes, some of them do. But according to the quote above there aren't any more fatal accidents under the new rules for drivers that are going beyond what they are allowed to do, let alone stopping at 11 hours. That means that a reduction in the HOS rules would basically only affect those of us who are already driving safely and legally.

Most drivers are paid by the mile and some are paid by the hour. It should be simple to see what cutting hours available to a driver would mean: a reduction in pay. If you give me a way to recover that money, I'll be all for working less hours, but the politicians aren't saying anything about that. According to The Trucker, "In addition, during one of the re-writes of the 2003 rule, data showed eliminating the 11th hour of driving would cost the industry $2.1 billion annually."

There are a couple of groups of so-called safety advocates who seem to have a lot of pull in Washington. They are lobbying for a mandatory 8 hour day and a 40 hour work week for truckers. That would cut my pay almost in half and make trucking companies have to double in size to pull in the same revenue that they are now. Okay, double my mileage pay and I'll do it. You and I both know that won't happen. If you think the economy is bad now, just think if we had $6 for a gallon of gas and double your grocery bill with no increase in your pay check on top of this already struggling economy. So, yeah, that ain't happening. If you want to see the next Great Depression, institute those rules.

Nobody knows for sure right now what the new rules will be like, but industry insiders are saying that it will likely involve a cut in driving time. If we are in an economic recovery right now, doing that will likely slow things down, and depending on the nature of the cut, could stop things completely.

[ThomWV]

1. If I understand your argument then the only effect will be a need for more drivers.

The same amount of freight must be moved the same number of miles in the same amount of time. There seems to be no lack of trucks, only drivers who can legally drive. So, the answer is to hire more drivers. Of course existing drivers will make less money and new drivers will never make as much as the old ones once did.

Its a race to the bottom brother, and you and I are neck and neck.

[Tobin S.]

3. That would involve a lot of team driving

And that may be the way the industry is headed. There are already quite a few companies that specialize in that. I did it when I first got into the industry and I won't do it again. Onwer-operators would probably all but disappear.

[ThomWV]

5. What is the current state of Unionization in the Trucking trade - its your only hope you know.

Because a strong Union gives a strong voice to speak to the Congress on the legal side of the coin and a strong Union is the only thing that can keep scab drivers from driving down wages or milage rates.

[Tobin S.]

6. Trucking used to be a heavily unionized trade. It is no longer.

A lot of that is due to Reagan and the de-regulation of the trucking industry back in the 80s. I'd say that the industry is about 20% union now, just guestimating.

At the previous company that I worked for I talked to the drivers there about unionizing. They were mostly too afraid for their jobs to try it. Word got back to the boss and he said that if we unionized our customer would cancel their contract with us. That pretty much sealed the deal. That customer, btw, was Honda and our part of the fleet was 30 drivers dedicated to that one account. I thought the boss was bullshitting us at first, but he was for real.

[Snotcicles]

7. Why would Honda care? didn't your company bid on the job? nt

[Tobin S.]

9. They do not have to want to with a possible strike

and an interuption in their supply chain. I've heard that even the unionized auto makers will not contract with union trucking companies.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Doesn't Honda have union plants?

Maybe I'm confused but I could have sworn Honda has union plants here in the US?

[Tobin S.]

10. Not that I know of

All of the Honda plants in Ohio are non-union. I think the entire company is.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Looks like some Honda plants are unionized

In England: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/honda-workers-vote-for-union-recognition-619799.html

And in China they were on strike recently: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-14/honda-workers-in-china-end-strike-for-three-days-as-union-negotiates-wages.html

And Japan: http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/44/221.html

[Tobin S.]

16. Not in the US, though, right?

A lot of states have that "right to work" deal going on that's just the opposite of what the name implies. Basically, they can shit-can you for any reason and you have no recourse. One of those reasons could be trying to organize a union. I hear Walmart does that kind of thing.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. Not that I can find; only overseas.

We have that right to work for less here in Kansas. It truly sucks.

[kickysnana]

2. Backhanded way of creating more jobs with your pay...

The stupidity of our Congress is absolutely breathtaking.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Well I'm just a car driver but I think safety should come first

It's hard to see how a driver ending 11 hours on the road wouldn't be tired. :shrug:

My son worked in a freight yard for several years until he lost his job about 6 months ago. He said repeatedly that he had never seen an industry that was so desperately in need of a union. He was appalled by how badly some of the drivers were treated. He also talked a lot about how easy it was to lose your CDL. One guy was suspended when a car cut him off on a ramp and his load tipped over. Turned out it was also not loaded correctly and had shifted. But the driver was penalized.

[Tobin S.]

12. You're right about the need for unionization

There is very little in the way of protection as far as a driver's job goes.

As far as 11 hours goes, that is not difficult for most drivers. The only time I get tired during my shift is when I'm driving overnight, and I do not push it. I stop and take a nap when I need to.

[madville]

14. Would increase the amount of fuel required to transport a load

If the driver's allowed hours are reduced and their break time is increased it will increase the amount of fuel consumed, costing companies more money and increasing our dependence on petroleum even further. Why would it increase fuel consumption? All those trucks packed in the truck stop and rest area for their breaks are either idling their engine or running a smaller generator so the driver can have AC/heat, electricity, etc. Reefer trucks also have engines that power the cooling of the trailer, on trips longer than X number hours, these engines would have to run longer as well during a longer break.

So the trucking company has a few options:

-Increase rates to cover higher fuel and manpower costs. That cost will filter out to the consumer at the store.

-Increase manpower to cover the hours you need. Not enough qualified drivers in the US that will work for less and the pay wasn't that awesome to begin with. Then the companies complain they can't get enough drivers here so all of a sudden we have foreign drivers in here on a work visa to cover the gap.

-Owner Operators are pretty much screwed and will become a thing of the past, can't pay for a truck,fuel and everything else plus draw a salary working a bunch less hours. Current conditions have already driven many out of the business, that would be the final nail.


This is just a way for our corporate friendly government to drive down pay, increase foreign worker visas, and destroy independent small businessmen, standard operating procedure.

[Tobin S.]

15. Good post. Thanks for the support.

:thumbsup: