When Ohio trucker Rocky Woodie cranks his rig on Jan. 4, he knows he’ll be challenged to get his trip completed within 14 hours – the work period mandated by the revised hours-of-service rule.
“I’m concerned about getting in and out of a shipper or receiver in time,” Woodie says. “You’ve now got to get off-loaded as soon as possible and get on the road.”
Woodie’s company, American Central Transport, has spent months planning for the shorter workday and other changes in the decades-old hours-of-service rule. Those changes, which go into effect at 12 a.m. on Jan. 4, also allow truckers to drive 11 hours instead of 10 and, in most cases, require 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time. But the hours of service rule revisions are just part of a myriad of government regulations that will affect drivers in the new year. Among the others:
There are other changes at the local level including new fuel and truck taxes as well as new tolls.
But no change is more cumbersome, expensive or worrisome than the new hours-of-service revision. By now, most truckers know the basics: 14 hours of on-duty time instead of 15, 11 hours of driving instead of 10 and 10 consecutive hours of rest instead of eight. But many are still bothered by the particulars, especially a provision that allows drivers to reset their weekly hours after 34 hours off duty and sleeper berth splitting, which few solo drivers had to take advantage of under the old rule.
Under the new rule, drivers operating on a 70-hour, eight-day week can reset their week if they take 34 consecutive hours off. For workaholics, the measure is seemingly better than the old rule, where drivers were prohibited from working more than 70 hours in the same period. The new rule allows a driver who drives 11 hours a day and logs three hours on-duty, non-driving, to drive as many as 77 hours in eight days, for a total of 98 hours logged on duty. Most drivers aren’t as worried about the extra time in the seat as they are worried about being stranded for 34 hours by a fleet intent on resetting their hours.
“One of the rumors they’ve heard is when they reach 70, they’re going to be stranded,” says Jim Kitchen, a veteran trucker and training curriculum designer for Schneider National. “They don’t look at the 34-hour reset as an advantage.”
