It’s time for more hours-of-service flexibility, OOIDA says

Two years after some hours-of-service flexibility was granted to truck drivers, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association says it’s time for more.

Citing the success of the COVID-19 emergency declaration, OOIDA asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to expand the split-sleeper options and allow drivers to pause their 14-hour clock up to three hours.

FMCSA issued the declaration – granting hours-of-service relief to truckers hauling emergency loads – in March 2020. The latest version of the waiver runs through Oct. 15. In August, the agency told Land Line it was aware of only two crashes involving truck drivers operating under the waiver since it began more than two years ago. Both were single-vehicle crashes. The first crash resulted in only minor injuries to the driver. The driver was uninjured in the second crash.

“This shows that drivers are generally not going to abuse additional hours-of-service flexibility at the risk of highway safety,” OOIDA wrote in formal comments to the agency on Wednesday, Sept. 21. “An experienced driver will know when they need to rest or take a break, and this data shows that more practical hours-of-service rules allow drivers to use their time more efficiently without endangering other highway users. We encourage FMCSA to take further action to promote hours-of-service flexibility starting with expanded split sleeper options or letting drivers pause their 14-hour clock up to three hours if necessary.”

More flexibility

OOIDA’s push for more hours-of-service flexibility came in response to an FMCSA notice that asked the public to provide feedback on the agency’s COVID-19 emergency declaration and whether or not it should continue.

“As the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, FMCSA should take the lessons learned since March 2020 and apply them in ways that improve the quality of trucking jobs,” OOIDA wrote. “We believe granting additional hours-of-service flexibility will provide drivers more opportunities to rest when they are tired, to maintain greater control over their own schedules, and allow them to work more efficiently.”

OOIDA petitioned the agency in February 2018 to revise the hours of service. After a lengthy comment period that included thousands of truck drivers asking for more flexibility, FMCSA added an adverse driving provision and made changes to short-haul limits, split-sleeper options and the 30-minute break rule. Those rule changes took effect in September 2020 and were upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this past July.

Many truckers felt the changes did not go far enough.

Split-duty period

OOIDA says the agency should take additional steps by launching a split-duty period pilot program and expanding split-sleeper berth options.

“Allowing drivers to pause their 14-hour clock would give truckers greater flexibility to rest when tired and avoid congestion, adverse weather conditions, or other factors that make driving unsafe,” OOIDA wrote. “The split-duty period would not increase maximum driving time, maximum on-duty time, or decrease minimum off-duty rest periods between shifts. Additionally, drivers would have more chances to get sufficient rest and would not be as stressed to beat the 14-hour clock. This would result in positive outcomes for driver health and highway safety.”

OOIDA said that a key to the success of a split-duty provision would be to ensure that the decision to pause the clock would be at the “sole discretion” of the driver.

More sleeper options

The September 2020 changes to the hours of service including a new sleeper berth provision that allowed for such splits as 8/2 and 7/3.

OOIDA says the agency should add 6/4 and 5/5 splits to truckers’ options.

“These splits would increase flexibility, allowing drivers to increase their productivity without compromising safety,” OOIDA wrote. “In fact, these splits would help to increase both safety along with health/wellness. The truth is that not all drivers are able to sleep eight or 10 hours at a time. Many OOIDA members have commented that they struggle to sleep more than six hours at a time. Thus, allowing them to split their sleeper time more efficiently will allow them to gain more adequate rest, resulting in increased alertness and better driving performance.”

Comment period closes

FMCSA’s comment period regarding the emergency declaration ended on Sept. 21. The agency received 367 comments.

Many of the comments came from truck drivers seeking more hours-of-service flexibility.

Pete Gonzales, who has been a truck driver for more than 50 years, wrote that the emergency declaration has allowed truck drivers to operate when the conditions are safe and to pull over when they are tired.

“The COVID exemption has given the driver the choice to drive when he feels rested and to stop and rest when he is tired,” Gonzales wrote. “I … have been hauling medical equipment throughout the pandemic, and I feel that this is one of the smartest (things) the federal government has done to help the driver and this country.” LL