Time has come to buck the status quo and improve conditions for drivers.
Just as safety organizations commence oral arguments in court in an attempt to overturn the new hours of service rule, the American Trucking Associations muddies the waters by suggesting that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration make the sleeper berth section of the rule more flexible.

Arguing that the current provision discourages naps and full 10-hour rest periods, the ATA wants drivers to be able to stop the 14-hour clock by taking at least two hours in the sleeper, provided he or she does not exceed the 14-hour cumulative or 11-hour driving limit, and follows duty time with an off-duty period consisting of at least 10 hours.

According to the ATA, this would encourage naps because drivers would not lose work hours, and the 10-hour break would encourage longer and better sleep.

My thoughts on this request from the ATA followed an evolutionary path, albeit a rapid one. At first, I questioned the ATA’s timing: Why suggest change when the entire matter is being argued in court? Perhaps they figure that the case being argued is entirely without merit; if so, then this is yet another instance of the ATA showing their arrogance.

I began thinking that maybe the ATA suggestion is a good one. After all, the rule as it stands does, indeed, discourage naps.

Then my thinking morphed yet again: Since when is the ATA primarily concerned with drivers getting proper rest at the expense of productivity? If this is the case, they have done a complete turnabout.

One has only to read through the complete hours of service rule making document (49 CFR Parts 385, 390, and 395 [Docket No. FMCSA-97-2350] RIN 2126-AA23) to see this: Safety groups repeatedly demanded a shorter work day and longer rest periods while the ATA repeatedly countered with arguments based on productivity.

Couple this with the fact that the ATA has made it their official mantra to maintain the status quo (including exempting drivers from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act) and their current suggestion begins to smell worse than old lobster bait.

Accepting the ATA’s suggestion and incorporating it into the HOS rule would effectively extend the driver’s workday from the current 14 hours to 16, 18 or more hours. This would destroy any semblance of a circadian rhythm clock – a clock that the FMCSA has worked very hard at creating.

Accepting the ATA’s proposal would also allow drivers to continue the practice of absorbing the inefficiencies currently inherent at shipping/receiving docks and in the industry as a whole. These inefficiencies rest near the core of the issue.

Risk is an integral part of any business and the taking of risk is what separates the owners from the employees. Owners accept the risk and the greater monetary rewards. Employees disdain risk and settle for a much smaller financial reward. Only when trucking companies begin to totally accept the risks inherent in existing inefficiencies and stop trying to lay them on the backs of their employees will those inefficiencies be addressed.

When that happens, the inefficiencies will begin to disappear and the owners will see a large increase in their revenues. The ATA’s stubborn adherence to an outdated status quo, does not serve the best interests of its members. Owners who unquestioningly subscribe to the regressive business philosophy of such an organization must eventually go the way of the dodo.

As we begin a new millennium, we must realize that the thinking born of the 1930s, 40s and 50s must be rethought. The deregulation of this industry presented us with further lessons. Let’s hope those lessons are being learned as well.

The federal government, in a rare show of progressive thinking, is showing the way with their new HOS rule. All of us in this dynamic industry – from drivers to corporate CEOs – must stop wasting our time and energies trying to maintain a rotting status quo. It is time to face forward and forge a new industry, a better industry, from today’s dross.
Guy Bourrie has been hauling on the highways for 20 years. He lives in Washington, Maine, and can be reached at [email protected].