Tag: hours of service: Page 5

Business

Cracks in the system: Blowing the whistle on coercion

In the more than four years since FMCSA’s driver protection rule took effect, results have been indirect at best, minimal at worst, when drivers report they’ve been pressured to violate regs.

December 9, 2019

Hours of Service

FMCSA grants two, denies three hours of service relief requests

The agency granted exemptions to two waste and recycling companies allowing their short-haul drivers to operate for 14 hours instead of 12. FMCSA denied applications from three companies that asked for their drivers to drive beyond the current limits of the HOS regs.

November 20, 2019

Hours of Service

Short-haul carrier asks FMCSA to expand short-haul exemption radius to 150 air miles

Palmetto State Armory says its drivers pick up and deliver products between manufacturing facilities and drive to PSA retail stores. The company states current operations include trips between 103 and 109 air miles. PSA says using ELDs or keeping logs “adds substantial costs to its operation and does not increase the level of safety.”

November 14, 2019

Overdrive Extra

Disruptions that will reverberate beyond 2020 — strategies for weathering, or taking full advantage

“The small business owner-operator does have certain advantages navigating market disruptions. An example of this is when natural disasters hit communities it’s the independents who step up to fill the gap, aided and abetted by our ability to make decisions faster, react quickly, tighten our belts and trim unnecessary fixed cost.”

November 12, 2019

Hours of Service

Indiana governor suspends hours regs for propane haulers in state

The executive order notes that Indiana is experiencing unseasonably cold weather, which has caused increased demand for propane to heat homes and businesses, causing a propane shortage in the state.

November 11, 2019

Business

FMCSA denies request for 18.5-hour on-duty period from environmental emergency response companies

FMCSA in its denial said there is no basis to allow drivers to drive after the 18th hour of coming on duty. The companies noted its drivers would not exceed eight hours of driving time during a shift, but FMCSA said it doesn’t believe limiting drivers to eight hours of drive time offsets the safety risks of an 18.5-hour driving window.

November 8, 2019

Channel 19

More split-sleeper wishful thinking: Specialized carriers association backs sleeper splits up to 5 and 5

A look at the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association’s commentary on FMCSA’s hours of service proposal. It closely mirrors what I’ve heard from so many truckers who remember the split-sleeper-berth rules of days gone by. Namely, that’s something along these lines: “Let us split as we see fit.”

October 31, 2019

Business

Machinery transport, repair group petitions for hours extension for short-haul drivers

Kentucky Equipment Distributors, which is made up of seven large machinery distributors operating in several states, is requesting that its short-haul drivers be allowed to return to their work-reporting location after 14 hours instead of 12 hours.

October 23, 2019

Overdrive Extra

The underappreciated asset of off-duty hours

Gary Buchs on strategies toward effective task/goal definition and prioritization to be wise when it comes to hours: “For too many years, we’ve viewed time off as a liability. … No matter how a person calculates their hours of service, logically there is no way to drive or work more hours than the time off-duty we need to recover to care for ourselves.”

October 22, 2019

Business

Fireworks haulers seek renewal of 14-hour rule relief

In their request, Illumination Fireworks Partners and Ace Pyro asked that drivers of its 60 commercial vehicles be allowed to exclude off-duty and sleeper-berth time of any length from the calculation of the 14 hours.

October 22, 2019

Hours of Service

Comment period for proposed hours changes closes Monday

Changes in the notice of proposed rulemaking include allowing drivers to pause their 14-hour on-duty clock for up to three hours and extending split sleeper berth options for drivers.

October 18, 2019

Hours of Service

Stress relief the hours proposal stands to deliver

NASTC’s David Owen on the hours of service proposal: “What the unnecessary ELD mandate has required is a closer look at the HOS and relief from the odious stress and pressures created by the current rule. I feel if the ‘advocates’ were true advocates for safer highways, they would see and appreciate this.”

October 11, 2019