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Drivers using multiple HOS rulesets – how to stay compliant.

01/29/16 by Egor Korneev.

Running under different HOS profiles in each fleet segment is straightforward. However, if companies use the same drivers, on the same days, to run under two different HOS rulesets, the complexity quickly rises. The possibility of unexpected Hours of Services violations escalates.

Read the full article here…..

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ATRI Research Finds Truck Operations and Safety Have Been Impacted by 34-Hour Restart Provisions

Arlington, VA – The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today released the results of a new analysis of the safety and operational impacts from the 34-hour restart provisions.  In this latest of an ongoing series of Research Tech Memos, ATRI analyzed an extensive truck GPS database to identify changes in truck travel by time-of-day and day of the week that may have occurred after the July 1, 2013 change to the Hours-of-Service (HOS) restart provisions.  ATRI also examined several years or pre- and post-July 1 federal truck crash data to quantify safety impacts resulting from the HOS rules change implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.The truck GPS data analysis identified a shift of truck traffic from nighttime to daytime and a shift of truck traffic away from the weekends to more congested weekdays, with the biggest decreases in truck activity occurring on Sunday nights.The crash data analysis showed a statistically significant increase in truck crashes after the July 1, 2013 rule change, specifically with injury and towaway crashes.  In particular, the increase in injury and towaway crashes would be expected based on the shifting of trucks to more congested weekday travel due to increased traffic exposure.The crash increases and operational shifts would ostensibly be independent of overall economic improvement since the statistical tool utilizes percentage change, and tonnage growth percentages over the 2-year period were relatively constant.  In addition, truck unit position points are a better indicator of physical truck movements than freight volumes.

ATRI’s report features some possible explanations for the GPS and crash data findings as a result of operational changes the industry had to make post-July 1, 2013.  Among these are:

  • Drivers abandoning use of the more restrictive 34-hour restart in favor of the rolling recap.
  • Expanded use of weekend productivity by drivers, particularly Friday into early Saturday driving.
  • Earlier weekend dispatches for drivers to avoid disruptions to early week (Monday-Tuesday) operations.

 

“After many years of crash decreases, everyone knows our industry has experienced an uptick in crashes,” said Dean Newell, Vice President, Safety of Maverick USA, Inc. and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee.  “This latest analysis from ATRI validates both changes in operations and crash risk that seem to be associated with the restart rule.  Regulations should serve to improve safety, not create additional safety risks.”

 

ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization.  It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.

FMCSA Posts Official Notice of Restart Rule Change

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has posted official notice of changes to the 34 hour restart provision to the Hours of Service regulations. You can access the official notice here.

Drivers may take a 34 hour off duty break to reset their cumulative totals; 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days.

Until further notice, drivers do not need to have 2 periods of time between 0100 – 0500, and are not restricted to using the restart once every 168 hours.

You can read more about this rule change here.

34-Hour HOS Restart Rule Change Effective Immediately

The President signed a broad spending bill that includes a temporary rollback of the July 2013 “34 hour restart” provision in the commercial drivers’ Hours of Service regulations. Effective today, drivers will be permitted to restart their weekly hours by simply logging at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. This change is effective until further notice, which we anticipate will be 1 year.

This temporarily lifts the two new restrictions on the use of the 2013 version of the 34-hour restart rule, the 0100 – 0500 provision and the 168-hour (7 day) provision.

The 2013 restart provision allows drivers to restart their weekly cumulative limits of either 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days if all of the following occurs; drivers take 34 consecutive hours off, this time includes two periods of time from 0100 to 0500, and can only be used once per 7 days.

Until July of 2013, the restart provision was simpler. Drivers could reset their weekly cumulative limits by simply taking 34 hours off.

The law requires the FMCSA perform a study to determine the impacts of this rule on safety, health, and carrier operations. The study must be overseen by the DOT Inspector General, and the rule requires the Agency prove a positive net impact of this new restart rule. Within 60 days, the FMCSA must submit to the DOT’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) a report outlining how it intends to execute the study. The OIG must report back any changes to the FMCSA’s plan within 30 days. Within 210 days of receiving clearance from the OIG, the FMCSA must produce its report. The OIG then has 60 days to report back to Congress. We anticipate this process to take the entire 360 days as defined above. If the DOT can prove that the restart rule as written in 2013 is beneficial or at least not detrimental – the 2013 version of the restart rule again becomes effective. If not, the pre-2013 rule remains in place.

If you are on electronic logs, contact your provider immediately regarding any needed updates or changes. If you are on paper logs, you need to immediately contact your drivers and explain the new 34 hour rule and its temporary status.

LoadTrek users do not need to worry about software or firmware updates. Your company’s LoadTrek administrator can simply change your HOS settings. From the LoadTrek Web Portal, go to Setup / HOS Profiles. Uncheck the box “Enable Reset Window” and select “Save”.