TEN FOUR MAGAZINE - TRUCKING ON-LINE MAGAZINE FOR TRUCKERS

JANUARY 2004 TRUCKER TALK

SORTING THROUGH
THE SILLINESS
By Owner Operators Rod & Kim Grimm

Happy New Year! Or is it? On January 1st we all make our standard resolutions – lose weight, stop smoking, get organized, etc. But this year, on January 4th at 12:01 A.M., truck drivers are having another resolution forced on them - new Hours of Service rules. Did our antiquated regulations need updating after 60 years? Duh! Did our politicians do such a great job of revising them? I’m not so sure.

While people are already screaming about increasing levels of pollution and too many trucks on the road, these political geniuses voted in regulations that will put 20% more trucks on the road. Our roads are so under-crowded (especially during rush hour) and parking spaces are so abundant, what were they thinking? Let’s create some jobs? Wal-Mart lost in court about what these new rules are going to cost them in terms of adding equipment and drivers, and if they can lose, where does that leave the rest of us?

I think there are more questions than answers when it comes to the new Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. Some companies say they have been training their drivers, but what is going to happen when the nice officer with the ticket book has a different interpretation?

Truck driving is the only occupation that I know of which fines its people for working overtime instead of paying them time-and-a-half. What about that police officer that can legally work sixteen hours, go home and get six hours of sleep, then come in and pull a double shift the next day? How alert can he be at that domestic abuse call or going at high speed in pursuit? Police officers are only responsible for guns and not a big truck. Or how about the doctor that operates all day and then is on call all night? I’ll bet he’s tired driving to the hospital. I think I’d rather he be well-rested before using a knife on me. You get the idea? These people have as much responsibility for life as a trucker, but the rules for them are different.

I’ve heard people voice hope that these new regulations will make the shippers and receivers more responsible, but please forgive me if I fear I’ll be an old lady in my rocking chair on the front porch before these (or any) rules will do much to change the attitude of shippers and receivers. I hope I’m wrong on this, but I’m not going to start holding my breath yet.

Listening to Dave Nemo’s radio show on November 4th, he had Steve Campbell, the executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), on to talk with drivers calling in with questions about the new HOS regulations. Among other interesting things, he said that passenger bus drivers will keep the old regulations. I’ll never understand why hauling freight needs to be more regulated than hauling people.

One driver asked why the fines vary so much from state to state for the same offense. Mr. Campbell’s answer was that the CVSA has a unified fine structure but the states don’t have to adopt it. Some jurisdictions use the structure and others have made up their own. Another driver asked about loading at his home terminal (which was about an hour from his house) and then stopping by home for a few hours on his way to deliver. Mr. Campbell replied by stating that the time spent at home would be considered “On Duty Not Driving” time. That seems ridiculous to me!

Another driver posed this scenario: “What if I check in at a produce dock, inform them to come and get me when its time to be loaded, then crawl into the sleeper for some rest?” Again, the answer as to how this time should be logged was “On Duty Not Driving” time. So, if this driver has been “On Duty” for six hours that day, then lays down and sleeps for six hours, then spends an hour on the dock loading, he only has one hour to drive before his fourteen hour clock is up. Now this driver will have to take ten hours off (after a six hour nap) in which he probably will not be able to go back to sleep. So when his ten hour break is up, guess what? Now he can (legally) drive, but he’ll be tired and probably forced to falsify his log. Where’s the logic (or safety) in that?

When asked about roadside inspections, Mr. Campbell said they were unsafe and not recommended! How hard is that to figure out? One day, years ago in Louisiana, I watched a DOT man who was inspecting a truck on the shoulder roll out from under it directly into the right lane. Glad I was in the left lane. I couldn’t believe that was a “safety” stop. And what if I or someone else couldn’t have gotten over when he made that brilliant move into oncoming traffic? Trucker’s fault I’m sure!

Mr. Campbell ended by saying that the CVSA has an unfair ticket resolution process and gave the phone number (202) 775-1623 and the web address www.cvsa.org. If you have questions or complaints, you can call or e-mail them. Good luck! A friend of mine from Canada said, “If common sense were so common, wouldn’t there be more of it?” This quote says a lot about some of the silly rules we’re expected to follow.

Truck drivers are the only sector of the motoring public whose safety rating has gone up. I wonder if these new regulations might change that fact. Where are all these new drivers for all these new trucks that are going to have to go on the road to make up for the productivity we’re losing going to come from? Truck driving schools? I was a student once upon a time and I say the only way you can learn is by doing it. Is three weeks in school and a few weeks with a trainer (and then you’re the trainer) enough? I don’t think it’s fair to the new drivers or the rest of the motoring public. I hope that this doesn’t end up hurting our safety record.

All we can do is our best to keep our log books right and hope the officer that stops us to take a look is on the same page we are. After all, it’s always the few bad apples in trucking, as with any other occupation, that people look at – not all the good ones.

Trucks are mechanical but we are human. Like I told a DOT man in Idaho years ago, “You might find something we missed.” He told me, “You could come to my house and see something I don’t because I’m there every day.” It will cost you more money in fines and repairs if you don’t keep your truck in tip-top shape and your log book current. So stay safe out there. I hope you can make rhyme or reason out of these new rules. Heaven knows I’m trying! They’ll probably be changing them a lot along the way, so we’ll do our best to keep you informed. Remember, ignorance is no excuse.