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Some Truckers Like New Hours for Driving, Rest, but Others See Cost Hike

Posted on: Sunday, 28 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 27--Some local truckers and trucking companies don't expect a major change now that President Bush has left in place new driving hours with only minor tweaking, but at least one trucking firm says new rules could cost it millions.

The Bush administration left truckers' on-duty and off-duty hours at largely the same levels as originally announced on Jan. 1, 2004, by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The rules will allow truckers to drive an extra hour -- 11 consecutive hours instead of 10 before taking mandatory rest time.

"It shouldn't affect us at all," said Thomas McBride, president and CEO of Colonial Freight Systems, which operates about 300 trucks in East Tennessee.

But John Tweed, president and chief operating officer of Landair of Greeneville, which hauls retail freight and consumer products, said the new rules will cut down on the time his drivers are on the road.

The key regulation that will affect Landair drivers is the requirement that eight of 10 resting hours be spent in a truck's sleeper berth.

The rules put in place in January 2004 required truckers to take 10 hours off, but they could split their time in the sleeper berth into two periods of at least two hours each. Prior to that rule change, eight hours were required off duty, but only two had to be spent in the sleeper berth.

Spending eight hours in the sleeper berth will mean less time loading, unloading, eating or doing other things during the rest period, so accomplishing those tasks could cut into driving time.

Since its drivers get paid by the mile, Landair must make up the difference, Tweed said, because truckers expect a certain paycheck every week. Of his 700 trucks, "500 to 600 will be significantly affected," he said, estimating the cost of compliance at $5.5 million per year.

"Trying to juggle all these schedule issues is difficult to do," he said. "It will mean I have to pay drivers more and get it from my customers."

The new rules are effective Oct. 1.

Under other provisions, truckers:

--May spend six days on the road during the week.

--May reduce the maximum workday from 15 hours to 14 hours.

--Can't drive more than 60 hours in seven days or 70 hours in eight days, but can restart that period after taking off 34 consecutive hours.

The rules, initially authorized by Congress, were struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Consumer groups including Ralph Nader's Public Citizen challenged the rules in a lawsuit, saying they threatened drivers' safety.

The FMCSA announced Aug 19 that a revision to the rule would allow trucks to operate for 11 hours at a time, as originally proposed.

Bill Jeffers, an independent trucker from Knoxville, said the main change would be in the amount of time truckers are required to be in their sleeper berth during the 10-hour rest period.

"Now you have to have at least eight hours of sleep," Jeffers said. "It's not something I personally as a trucker would complain about. And if you take a 34-hour break, you can start all over again.

Debbie Davis, director of compliance for Pemberton Truck Lines Inc. of Knoxville, which has 225 trucks hauling general freight, said the rules would not affect her company much either.

"The only change is the sleeper-berth provision," she said. "Previously, we could take a combination of two periods of time."

Pemberton likes the provision allowing drivers to restart the clock after 34 hours off.

"That was real key," Davis said. "The accidents have not increased with the new regulations. We need some driver-friendly changes, something that would be safe and allow motor carriers to be profitable."

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Source: The Knoxville News-Sentinel

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