Hours of service

Topic once again dominates floor at FMCSA listening session.

Not many people are aware of this, but Alaska received a special exemption from the HOS regulations.

IIHS says driver fatigue still is a “major risk factor.”

Women drivers wait longer to load and unload their freight than their male counterparts because they are less prone to pitching a fit over delays.

Drivers hauling supplies in response to storm will be exempt from hours-of-service rules.

ATA says rules should assume “drivers” will no longer be people.

Roughly 3,580 drivers will be affected by the FMCSA’s exemption

On this episode we’re covering all the latest headlines, talking HOS changes and digital brokers’ road to profit, playing earnings over/under, hearing about huge hail, seeing what’s on the radar, […]

Experts say revisions could help fix long-term market inefficiencies.

Reaction is mixed among stakeholders to hours-of-service rule changes proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Safety, labor advocates register early opposition to rule changes.

30-minute rest break, split sleeper berth requirements among five major revisions.

Agency will not comment on new publication date until review is finalized.

The USDOT and USDA are seeking comments on a revision to hours-of-service and electronic logging device regulations for the agriculture and livestock industries.

FMCSA, USDA to standardize definitions for HOS exemption enforcement.

Suspension will help drivers haul relief supplies in response to Tropical Storm Barry.

Traveling carnival’s most important rides are reserved for the drivers in its trucks.

Governor Gavin Newsom requests federal assistance from President Trump

ELDs and artificial intelligence have increased the number of opportunities for drivers by allowing for solutions that offer load matching and more.

Appreciating hours of service rules is part of the fabric that makes this Wisconsin-based dairy company go the extra mile to ensure that truckers spend as little time as possible in its facilities.

Capitol Hill hearing took on lease-purchase agreements, truck size and weights

FMCSA wants to fill “critical data gap” on loading dock wait times

Measure also seeks to keep 30-minute rest break, ag hauler ELD exemption.

FMCSA will look to avoid separate rules while addressing new technologies

Top DOT official ranks HOS #1 on freight priority list.

Carrier accused of overworking driver in no position to pay.

A California federal court dismissed part of a class-action lawsuit against U.S. Xpress (NYSE: USX) that claimed the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based truckload carrier violated the state’s meal and rest break laws. […]

Delays could extend to U.S.-Canada as customs personnel are relocated to deal with immigration on the southern border.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced that the Department of Transportation has sent an hours of service (HOS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval.

What makes a commodity and agricultural commodity? That is one question that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations hopes to answer soon, it said, during a regulatory update session at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

Today on FreightWaves NOW, Nick tells us about what’s up with the weather. Dean gives us the down-low on what’s happening with hours-of-service, detention time, and several new indexes on SONAR helping us fight the War on Detention.

Flip a switch. Seems easy enough, but for those fleets that think that’s all they have to do with their ELD come December 16, 2019, they may quickly find their truck driver sitting idle, which is why now is the time to start the transition from a legacy AOBRD.

Martinez emphasized a collaborative approach to regulation and said that removing non-preventable accidents from CSA scorecards is next on the agency’s agenda.

Market expert Dean Croke writes about the impact of Daylight Saving Time (DST) on drivers (particularly truckers) and the pros and cons of the energy saving rationale behind DST.

At least 40 percent of drivers are still using AOBRDs, and nearly 80 percent of those don’t plan to switch to ELDs until the second half of 2019, just ahead of the deadline.

A new petition is seeking White House help to get two bills that would exempt most small trucking companies and owner-operators exempted from the ELD requirement reintroduced to Congress.

ELD’s were supposed to make headway into reducing crashes, but that may not be the case so far, according to academic research from supply chain experts.

As of December 16, 2019, anyone running an AOBRD must switch to an ELD. There are steps that can be taken now to ensure the changeover will be painless.

FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez wanted to “fast track” the HOS rules changes – but the government shutdown is in the way.

Drivers most often commented on equipment issues, logistics, people, pay, and communication on the WorkHound platform in 2018. The platform compiles anonymous driver comments.

Hours of sleep are critical to truck driver safety and to driver retention. The “science of sleep’“ in the context of truck drivers is examined in this article.

As administrators for the Black Smoke Matters group on Facebook worked to get a handle on the sudden explosion of members in the group, one administrator announced he is stepping away from the page and the group has posted what it is calling “Truckers Declarations for the 2019 Shutdown” on its website.

It’s that time of year; time to look forward and plan for the year. In order to have a better idea of where the economy and industry are headed, we always like to look back and review from where we came and what happened.

Trucking companies could be exposed to increased liability while a challenge to FMCSA’s hours-of-service preemption in California is pending.

Black Smoke Matters, a group formed by truckers, is planning a nationwide shutdown on April 12 to protest several issues facing truckers.

Livestock haulers are relying on the fate of the federal budget to determine how long their ELD exemptions will last.

FMCSA has made public the denials of 10 exemption requests from its ELD rule, including OOIDA and nine smaller groups that were formally rejected earlier this year.

The original notice failed to include propane. It can become a factor particularly if deliveries go on past 12 hours.

The American Transportation Research Institute is asking fleets to contribute electronic logging device (ELD) data to the group so it can study how the data can assist the industry in terms of safety initiatives and regulatory focus.

It is now clarified that your truck can be laden while driving for personal conveyance.

Head of FMCSA and largest U.S. truck trade group say California attempting to preempt federal regulations.

FMCSA is allowing concrete pumper operators to work up to 14 hours in a day through a new exemption to the 12-hour workday for short-haul operators.

The divergence on that issue isn’t the only one: not surprisingly, management and drivers see the driver shortage issue through different lenses.

On the agenda for the day: AOBRD transition, personal conveyance, sleeper berth rule and plenty of other issues for FMCSA’s top attorney.

Martinez also said the process has begun to look at the overlapping rules regarding agriculture transportation, and he clearly doesn’t favor California’s separate rules on meal breaks.

It may mean less now in an era of higher pay, but if total hours don’t exceed the minimum wage, it could be an issue because of this ruling.

In an effort to give our subscriber base input on a hot topic – HOS changes – we decided to conduct a survey during the FMCSA open comment period. Check out what we found!

Groups representing livestock, bee and fish haulers in the nation have asked the Department of Transportation to extend their available driving time up to 15 hours a day, up from the current federally regulated 11 hours.

It’s a wide range of opinions that are expressed in FMCSA’s call for comments on changes in the HOS rule.

FMCSA Administrator Martinez and his officials listened to truck drivers and fleet owners as they asked for more flexibility in the hours of service. The usefulness of split sleeping and breaking up the mandatory 30 minute break were brought up most frequently.

The popular electronic logging device (ELD) exemption for agricultural haulers is up for renewal before Sept. 30, but it’s longer-term fate may hang with Congress’ ability to pass a budget – or at least a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government open beyond Sunday.

Despite publicizing that hours-of-service (HOS) violations would be the focus of this year’s International Roadcheck, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual June event resulted in 43.7% of all drivers placed out of service done so because of HOS violations.

Latest update from the National Hurricane Center sees the storm reaching major hurricane status later today.

It’s no surprise that truck drivers who travel during peak times face slower average speeds and that more flexible HOS regulations could not only speed those travel times, but also would not impact the miles drivers cover in a day, according to ATRI.

Mexico will enact a law regulating truck drivers’ hours of service this week. It is the first law of its kind in Mexico, as driving time has never been managed on the federal level before.

Joe DeLorenzo, director of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance for FMCSA, went through some of the common problems the agency is seeing since the ELD mandate went into effect, and there have been plenty.

If there is just one word that can best sum up the official Listening Session on hours of service (HOS) that FMCSA held on Friday at the Great American Trucking Show, it would be flexibility.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving forward with plans to solicit public comment on current hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.

The waiver granted by FMCSA covers the federal code governing truckers, but only for their activities involving aiding the efforts to fight western wildfires.

Truck drivers involved in certain behaviors are more likely to have a future crash, ATRI research has concluded.

Despite repeated efforts, confusion still reigns when it comes to hours-of-service compliance and when drivers can use personal conveyance or the agriculture exemptions available.

Waste Management Holdings has applied for an hours of service exemption, asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to consider allowing its drivers to work extra hours without losing short-haul status.

While there is a lot of noise surrounding tariffs and potential trade wars, it probably isn’t enough to derail the economy and the red-hot freight environment.

Cashflow Corner presented by TriumphPay …Drivers can potentially benefit from added flexibility by utilizing the current split sleeper provision allowed under hours-of-service laws.

Understanding hours-of-service and ELD regulations and their exemptions can help fleets better manage driver’s time.

The FMCSA has posted a new infographic on its website, which it says it plans to update monthly.

Think government regulations are just a drain on your finances? Think again. Today, savvy fleets are using government regulations such as the hours-of-service rules to their advantage — but how?

Efforts are being made to exempt livestock and certain agricultural haulers from ELD and hour-of-service rules, but a trucking group and safety advocacy organization are fighting back.

Cashflow Corner presented by TriumphPay …Unless you are one of the many drivers who have proclaimed the next three days as vacation days, there is a good chance you will run into an inspection somewhere. If so, will you be prepared?

Also: jobs report, the FMCSA guidance, and who should pay for parking?

Freedom of movement in the 150-mile radius, and a loosening of the rules to get somewhere safely are part of FMCSA’s latest guidance.

Freedom of movement in the 150-mile radius, and a loosening of the rules to get somewhere safely are part of FMCSA’s latest guidance.

Drivers find productivity gains after ELD hard enforcement; Canadian Pacific workers’ strike imminent; Brazilian truckers extract over $2B in govt concessions; Maersk rolls out blockchain-based maritime insurance; WaPo interviews truck drivers on the lifestyle.

Cashflow Corner presented by TriumphPay …If your ELD provider suddenly shuts down service and goes out of business, do you know what to do?

Imagine the worst boss you’ve ever had looking over your shoulder all day and telling you what to do, and then once 14 hours have elapsed since you drove to work, you have to drop everything, stop work and take a 10-hour break regardless of the time of day.

The proposed legislation would radically change the HOS rule for the livestock industry, which describes its problems as unique.

Every new regulatory regime—whether it’s deregulation, the introduction of hours of service, or the ELD mandate—prompts a fresh wave of creative destruction. Some business models thrive, while others go extinct.

Congress will decide on an amendment to a federal aviation bill that would curtail a state’s ability to set its own rules on HOS, which could end up creating problems for truck drivers.

The ATA and OOIDA are on different sides of this issue.

California is applying meal and rest break provisions to truck drivers that are in conflict with federal hours-of-service regulations, according to many in the industry. That is why so many are pushing to include the Denham Amendment in the FAA authorization bill.

While April 1 turned out not to be the total disaster so many predicted, the hard enforcement date has brought pain to some individual truck drivers and fleets who continue to be tripped up by common mistakes.

To help maximize driver hours, place appointments and schedules around driver sleep patters and preferences 

The REST act would only make one significant change in the Hours of Service rule: to extend the day by three hours from its current top limit of 14 hours.

One thing that hasn’t changed (yet) with the ELD mandate is the way drivers get treated at shippers and receivers. The old adage of “hurry up and wait” has never been more apt, especially in the over-the-road truckload sector.

Rep. Babin introduced a bill that will overhaul the hours of service rules and if it passes it will end up making the industry safer.

FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez heard plenty of complaints from truck drivers over ELDs, hours of service, and parking issues during a Listening Session at Mid-America.

The administrator said he is on an “aggressive listening” tour. 

FMCSA’s Joe DeLorenzo took plenty of questions from the audience as he tried to clear up confusion over the ELD rule during a session at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

Crete Carrier had a 400% increase in load turndowns in February and that is just one of the metrics that indicates the current conditions of the freight market.

Even with lower levels of automation, trucks could essentially work around the clock, but what will regulators do about the ELD hours-of-service rule?