OTA Dispatch Issue 3, 2020

HERE WE GO again. Have you ever examined the history of driver hours of service rules in this country? It all began in 1937 when the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issued the first iteration of the driver hours of service rules. Under those rules, drivers were required to work on 24-hour cycle, drive a maximum 10 hours, and rest a minimum 8 hours. Drivers could accrue up to 60 hours of driving over 7 consecutive days, and 70 hours of driving over 8 consecutive days. Even in that fledgling effort certain ICC commissioners at the time expressed misgivings that the new rules might not be conducive to safety. Minutes from those 1937 ICC deliberations recorded, “For some time we have had under serious consideration the advisability of having a comprehensive, scientific study made of the causes and effects of driver fatigue… We have concluded that it would be wise to have such a study made…” Then in 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act created an exemption for the trucking industry from overtime compensation. That created an incentive to drive long hours and seemingly kicked off an unending discussion about driver hours REGULATORY COMPLIANCE Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch 8 Past is Prologue (or Nothing New Under the Sun) When it Comes to Hours of Service Discussion By Gregg Dal Ponte, OTA’s Director of Regulatory Compliance of service. By 1939, revisions started to be discussed due to various objections raised by multiple parties. I started to draft a history of the evolution of hours of service rulemaking as a preface to this article. As my draft reached the eighth page two thoughts occurred to me. First, my editor was not going to give me that many columns of space in the magazine. Second, I thought of the lyrics to a song my schoolteacher wife of 40 years used to sing to her class: This is the song that doesn’t end. Yes, it goes on and on, my friends. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was and they’ll continue singing it forever just because... It is a single verse long song written in an infinite loop motif in a march style that flows in cyclical fashion repeating the same verse over and over. So it goes in my estimation with the ongoing consideration of hours of service. While small children might enjoy it, I do not think that can be said of the audience for the discussion around hours of service. Suffice it to say that in my review of the history of this subject there has been a litany of voices all clamoring to be heard. And who exactly is part of that chorus? Governmental regulators, academicians, elected officials, U.S. Courts, lobbyists, Congress, the trucking industry (although not in a united voice), and an assembly of special interest groups including Public Citizen, Advocates, CRASH, Parents Against Tired Truckers, Trauma Foundation, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Not to be discounted next are the tens of thousands of individuals who opted to submit their comments for or against these rulemakings in response to announced public listening sessions hosted by governmental entities tasked to conduct these rulemakings. And if I can be permitted a short editorial comment, I sometimes scratch my head and ponder how this could be such a difficult subject. How many of my readers have ever driven a truck in their past? Didn’t you know when you needed to stop driving and rest? In our society we all have a shared responsibility to behave responsibly. When we regulate, we unavoidably settle on a one-size-fits-all prescription while in fact we each individually have requirements unique to 1937 1962 2003 2005, 2007, 2008 Driving 10 Hours 10 Hours 11 Hours 11 Hours Duty Period 24 Consecutive Hours from Duty Start Time 15-Hour Driving Window, Extendable by Breaks 14-Hour Driving Window, Not Extendable by Breaks 14-Hour Driving Window, Not Extendable by Breaks Off-Duty 8 Hours 8 Hours 10 Hours 10 Hours 7/8 Day Limits 60/70 Hours in 7/8 Days 60/70 Hours in 7/8 Days 60/70 Hours in 7/8 Days 60/70 Hours in 7/8 Days Restart of 60/70 Hour Period None None 34-Hour Restart 34-Hour Restart Sleeper Berth 2 Undefined Periods Totaling 8 Hours 2 Periods Totaling 8 or More Hours; Each a Minimum of 2 Hours 2 Periods Totaling 10 or More Hours; Each a Minimum of 2 Hours 2 Periods Totaling 10 or More Hours; One at Least 8 Consec. Hours, Other at Least 2 Off Duty or Sleeper Time Period Reference 24 Hour Period from Duty Start Time Hours Accumulated Following 8 Hours Off Duty Hours Accumulated Following 10 Hours Off Duty Hours Accumulated Following 10 Hours Off Duty Note: The 1962 rules remain in effect today for passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles.