New HOS Regs now in effect for truck drivers
FMCSA Hours of Service rules now require 70 hours for trucker work week
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has unrolled new truck driver hours that took effect on July 1, 2013.
The updated hours of service (HOS) reduce the work week to 70 hours, with the goal of helping truck drivers get the rest they need to drive safely. Safety experts believe that many preventable commercial motor carrier crashes are caused by inadequate rest, and that driver fatigue behind the wheel is a major cause for far too many truck accidents.
Here’s the new final rule on truck driver hours:
- The maximum average work week for truck drivers is limited to 70 hours, which is a decrease from the current 82-hour max.
- Truck drivers who reach the maximum 70 hours of driving within a week are allowed to resume driving if they rest for 34 consecutive hours. The 34-hour rest period includes at least two nights of sleep from 1-5 a.m., when their internal clock demands sleep the most.
- Truckers are required to take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a shift.
- The current 11-hour daily driving limit and 14-hour work day has been retained.
For more information, you can read a summary of hours of service regulations from the FMCSA.
How many people are killed by tired truckers?
Truck driver fatigue is a factor in at least 30 percent of truck crashes, according to an estimate from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sourcing an Associated Press article, “Fatigue cited in Okla. crash that killed 10.”
And research shows the risk of a truck accidents increases twofold after eight consecutive hours of driving. In addition, truck driver fatigue is the top contributing factor in truck driver deaths from truck wrecks.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said safety and preventing truck driver fatigue is the FMCSA’s biggest priority, in a recent press release from the FMCSA. The FMSCA estimates that these new safety regulations will save 19 lives and prevent approximately 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries each year.
Reducing the number of hours truck drivers can drive on the road is always a positive. But in this case, the FMSCA needs to further reduce the hours of service. As stated above, the risk of a truck crash increases two-fold after 11 hours on the road. This 11-hour limit must be reduced as well. Requiring truckers to take more rest breaks would also help combat truck driver fatigue.
Related information: