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Trucking Regulations Will Keep Drivers On The Road Longer

By Eddie Farah

It was an eleventh hour rule by the Bush administration that does not keep us safer on the highways. The administration in its waning days has decided to finalize rules on just how long truckers can stay behind the wheel.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule allows drivers of big-rigs to work for up to 14 consecutive hours, including 11 behind the wheel. They must rest ten hours between shifts and may not work more than 60 hours in a week.

If a driver takes a 34-hour break, they can then restart their weekly tally.

The older regulation limited driving time to 10 hours, but also cost the trucking industry an estimated $2.4 billion a year.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has shown that there is an increase in crashes after 8 to 10 hours of driving. The courts have already rejected the rules twice but that didn’t stop the Bush administration which finalized them.

Trucking accidents killed almost 5,000 people last year- mostly people in cars not trucks. And federal records show there were more than 400,000 large trucks involved in accidents in 2007.

The trucking industry says the rules, which have essentially been followed for the last few years, have resulted in fewer accidents. On the other side of the issue is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Public Citizen and the Truck Safety Coalition, a group that focuses on cutting down on truck accidents.

The groups filed a petition for reconsideration of the rules on December 18^th.

Public Citizen even challenged the rule in 2004, citing the government’s own studies that show performance behind the wheel declines after eight hours.

Other studies show that performance does not decline if there is adequate rest in between. More definitive testing is needed, and studies not funded by industry – on exactly how much rest is needed between trips.

The incoming administration may revisit and even overhaul the rule. Otherwise trucking companies may be able to order drivers to work grueling hours that put us all in jeopardy. Public Citizen accurately calls them “rolling sweatshops.”

We have seen too many accidents involving big-rigs that people never recover from physically or financially. Let’s keep sanity on our highways. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on January 10, 2009 (boomark / email).