Drivers and others in trucking called for more flexibility in sleeper berth regulations Friday, March 26, during the fifth public hearing on revising the hours of service rule.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration held the day-long meeting at a convention center in Louisville, Ky.
FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, who has attended some of the hearings, said the challenge is finding ways to make the regs more flexible, but in ways that will “protect us from those who abuse the system.”
She said there will be further opportunity for comment before the agency issues a final rule, which is due by July 2011.
Donald Miller of Swift Transportation said the lack of sleeper berth split flexibility works against smart timing for getting through urban rush hours and forces drivers to eat while they drive instead of taking a break.
Sue Walker of Enterprise Transportation said she has trouble with split sleeper berth restrictions when she’s forced out of her normal daytime body cycles. That happens “when I have to start out at midnight or 1 in the morning to pick up a load and drive through the night,” she said.
Outside of complaints about the sleeper berth provisions, Usher Transport’s 260 drivers like the current rule, said Bill Usher. Since the current rule went into effect, the nation’s truck-related fatalities have dropped dramatically, he said. “Statistically, it defends itself,” he said.
