Regulations Propose Stricter Hours of Service Monitoring

June 05, 2011

Regulations Propose Stricter Hours of Service Monitoring

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), driver fatigue kills 1,550 people each year and contributes to 71,000 driver-fatigue injuries. To combat this public safety problem, the DOT had already proposed a mandate that companies that habitually violate federal hours-of-service standards install electronic onboard reporters (EOBRs). In February 2011, the federal government expanded the requirement to include a majority of other commercial carriers. This new mandate has many in the trucking industry up in arms.

Anticipating larger that carriers such as Conway and FedEx would be affected by this rule, the law change will also impact smaller and even independent drivers who do not have the need or budgets for high-tech equipment, as is the case of Terry Button. A fifth-generation farmer who also works as a long-distance trucker, Button operates his vehicle without the need for cruise control or GPS.

Button is not alone in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of other independent truckers who drive this nation's roads, make minimal salaries and use inexpensive paper logbooks. To these truckers, the introduction of EOBRs will increase cost and--in their opinion--not improve safety.

The goal of the newly expanded DOT rule is to reduce injuries and fatalities related to drowsy driving or driver fatigue. EOBRs, which are already used internationally, serve as digital record keepers that can provide accurate information for truckers and reduce the risk of erroneous and fraudulent driver logs. These digital tools track the hours a driver actually operates his vehicle.

Commercial drivers' long hours result in sleep deprivation and disruption of normal sleep cycles, causing fatigue. This form of impaired driving puts more than the big-truck driver and his cargo at risk. Everyone is at risk, as in the case in February 2011 for Nassau County police officer Michael Califano. During a routine traffic stop, the officer was struck and killed by a commercial truck, the driver of which had fallen asleep behind the wheel.

While small and large carriers alike might see the new rule as another form of government harassment, the reality is that impaired driving for commercial motor vehicle operators is a serious public safety and health issue. EOBRs are just one way to monitor and hold carriers accountable for risky driver behaviors.

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