The Hours of Service (HOS ) Regulation is issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and regulates the hours of operation of any person operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in the United States. This rule applies to truck drivers, commercial and municipal bus drivers, and school bus drivers who operate CMV. These rules limit the number of daily and weekly hours spent on driving and work, and set the minimum amount of time the driver should spend to rest between driving schedules. For intrastate trades, respective country regulations apply.
FMCSA is a division of the US Department of Transportation (DOT), which is generally responsible for enforcing FMCSA regulations. The CMV driver is required to keep a record of working hours using a notebook, outlining the total number of hours spent driving and resting, as well as the time when a task status change occurs. Instead of a log book, motor vehicles can track the driver's hours using the Electronic Logging Device (ELD), which automatically records the amount of time spent driving a vehicle.
The main purpose of HOS is to prevent accidents caused by driver fatigue. This is done by limiting the number of hours of driving per day, and the number of driving and hours worked per week. Fatigue is also prevented by keeping the driver on schedule 21 to 24 hours, maintaining a natural sleep/wake cycle (or circadian rhythm). Racers are required to take a minimum daily rest period, and are allowed a longer "weekend" break period to combat the cumulative fatigue effect that increases each week.
HOS enforcement is generally handled by DOT officers from each state, and is sometimes checked when the CMV passes the weigh stations. Drivers that are known to violate HOS may be forced to stop driving for a certain period of time, which may adversely affect the carrier's motor safety rating. The request to change HOS is a debatable source of debate, and many surveys show some drivers escaped by routinely violating HOS. These facts have begun another debate about whether motor carriers should be required to use ELD in their vehicles, rather than relying on paper-based notebooks.
Video Hours of service
Destination
Drivers subject to HOS include vehicle drivers who have a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds (4,536 kg) or more; designed or used to carry more than 8 passengers (including drivers) for compensation; designed or used to carry more than 15 passengers (including drivers) and not used to transport passengers for compensation; or used to transport hazardous substances in quantities requiring vehicles to be marked or signed under hazardous materials regulations.
The purpose of HOS is to reduce accidents caused by driver fatigue. As the graph on the right shows, the number of hours spent driving has a strong correlation with the number of accidents associated with fatigue. According to many studies, the risk of fatigue is also greatest between midnight hours and six mornings, and increases with the total length of the driver's journey.
FMCSA identifies three main factors in driver fatigue: the effects of circadian rhythm, sleep deprivation and cumulative fatigue effects, and industrial fatigue or "time-on-duty".
The effects of circadian rhythms illustrate the human tendency to experience a normal cycle of attention and drowsiness for 24 hours a day. Those with conventional sleep patterns (sleeping for seven or eight hours at night) experienced a period of maximum fatigue in the early hours of the morning and lower periods in the afternoon. During the low points of this cycle, a person experiences a reduction in attention. During the high spots, it is difficult to sleep soundly. This cycle is attached in part by ambient lighting (darkness causes one's body to release the hormone melatonin, which induces sleep), and by a pattern that forces one to sleep and wake up regularly. The effects of the day-night cycle are never completely replaced (standard artificial lighting is not strong enough to inhibit melatonin release), and the performance of night shift workers usually suffers. Circadian rhythms are persistent, and can only be moved one to two hours forward or back per day. Changing the start time of the work shift over this amount will reduce attention, which is common after the first night shift after a "weekend" break during the conventional sleep time followed.
Sleep deprivation and cumulative fatigue effects illustrate how individuals who fail to have an adequate sleep period (7-8 hours in 24 hours) or who have woken longer than conventional 16-17 hours will have less sleep. Sleep deficits accumulate with days of consecutive sleep deprivation, and additional fatigue can be caused by daily resting sleeps into two shorter periods in lieu of an unbroken sleep period. The sleep deficit is not directly reduced by sleep one night; it may take two or three conventional sleep cycles for an individual to return to undisturbed performance.
Industrial fatigue or "time-on-duty" describes the accumulated fatigue during the working period, and affects performance at different times during the shift. Performance decreases the longer a person engages in the task, gradually over the first few hours and sharper towards the end of a long period at work. Performance reduction has also been observed in the first working hours as individuals adjust to the work environment.
Maps Hours of service
Definition of terms
Portions of the driver's day of work are determined in four ways: Working time, time off duty, driving time, and sleep time.
The FMCSA Regulation Ã,ç395.2 states:
Time Active time is all the time when the driver starts working or must be ready to work until the driver is exempt from work and all responsibility for doing the work.
- Working time includes:
- All the time at the factory, terminal, facility, or other property of a motor vehicle or shipper, or on a public property, waiting to be sent unless the driver has been exempt from duty by the motor carrier.
- All the time checking, servicing, or setting up CMV at any time.
- Crosses the border
- All driving time as defined in terms of "driving time".
- All the time, other than driving time, on or on any CMV except for the time spent resting in bed.
- All the time loading or dismantling CMV, supervising, or assisting in loading or unloading, attending loaded or unloaded CMV, remaining in readiness to operate CMV, or in delivering or receiving receipts for shipped or unloaded shipments.
- All times fix, get help, or stay present on disabled CMVs.
- All time spent providing breath samples or urine specimens, including travel time to and from the collection site, to observe random, reasonable, post-accident, or further drug suspicion.
- Perform any other work in the capacity, use or service of the motor carrier.
- Doing compensated work for people who are not motor carriers. (This rule does not explicitly prohibit the driver from getting a second job or part time, this just prevents the driver from switching from a non-driving job to a driving job without the required 10 hours of rest.)
The Driving time is at all times used on CMV driving controls.
Bedtime is how much time is spent in bed (for example, resting or sleeping). The FMCSA regulation Ã,ç393.76 provides the minimum requirements for space to be defined as a bed. The simple definition is a separate area from (usually directly behind) a driving control that includes the bed. The rules do not explicitly require the driver to be asleep, only that the driver should take a period of "rest" in the bed or outside of duty (ie, home). A statement made by the ICC in 1937 provides the excuse: "We have no control over the way in which a driver can spend his time off-duty, although some of his leisure activities can tire him as much as the work to be done." We can only stress, this, the driver's own responsibility to ensure that he is well rested and asleep, in the time available for this purpose, to ensure the safety of his driver, and also the employer's responsibility to see that his driver reports to work in a fit state. "
The Off-duty time is an unused time when on duty, driving, or in bed.
History
In 1938, the now abolished International Trade Commission (KSB) enacted the first HOS rules. The driver is limited to 12 working hours within 15 hours. Work is defined as loading, unpacking, driving, handling delivery, preparing reports, preparing vehicles for service, or performing other tasks related to passenger or property transport. The ICC intends a 3 hour difference between 15 working hours and 12 hours of work to be used for meals and breaks. Weekly maximum is limited to 60 hours more than 7 days (non-daily drivers), or 70 hours more than 8 days (daily driver). These rules allow for 12 hours of work within a period of 15 hours, 9 hours of rest, with 3 hours to rest in 24 hours a day.
However, in a short time, organized labor representatives (including the American Federation of Laborers, Timsters, and the International Association of Experts) made a petition to comply with the original rules. Some motor operators make similar requests. The ICC agrees, and the oral argument is heard again. Labor wants a HOS limit of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. The ICC commented "no statistical or other information will allow [them] to say for certain how long a driver can work safely."
The evidence in front of us is clearly not enough to allow us to conclude that a period of as low as 8 hours 24 is necessary for the sake of salvation. We can attract attention, like division, in contrast between factory operations, generally character, and the operation of buses and trucks, generally characterized by frequent stops... due to conditions encountered on roads and road traffic. The monotonous tension or physical and physical tension of such vehicles is reduced by this break in a period devoted to driving, and the actual working period is well below the duty period.
Within six months of the initial decision, the ICC finally decided to change the 12-hour deadline of work within 24 hours to a 10-hour limit of driving within 24 hours, and the 15-hour deadline in charge was canceled. Motor operators are required to give drivers 8 instead of 9 consecutive hours without daily tasks. These rules allow for 10 hours of driving and 8 hours of rest in 24 hours a day.
In 1962, for reasons never explained clearly, the ICC abolished the 24-hour cycle rule, and restored the 15-hour deadline on duty. With 10 hours of driving and 8 hours of sleep, drivers are allowed to maintain an 18 hour cycle, interrupting the driver's natural 24-hour circadian rhythm. This change allows up to 16 hours of driving per day, allowing drivers to spend their weekly limit in just five days. Then, an additional exception for truck equipped with bed means the driver is allowed to "divide" the 8 hour open time into two parts. With the provision of a new separation, a driver can take two 4-hour break periods. Using one of these short break periods will effectively "stop the service hours", allowing the driver to divide the 15 hour work time into two parts as well. These rules allow for 10 hours of work within 15 hours, and 8 hours of rest within 18 hours.
Between 1962 and 2003, there were many proposals for changing HOS again, but nothing was resolved. At this time, the ICC has been removed, and regulations are now issued by FMCSA. The change in 2003 applies only to drivers carrying property (ie, truckers). These rules allow 11 hours of driving in a 14 hour period, and require 10 hours of rest. This change will allow the driver (using all 14 hours of on-duty period) to maintain a natural 24-hour cycle, with a minimum cycle of 21 hours (11 hours of driving, 10 hours of rest). However, retention of the split sleeping footpath will allow the driver to maintain irregular short sleep schedules.
The most notable change in 2003 was the introduction of a "34 hour restart." Prior to the change, drivers could only get more weekly driving hours with each passing day (which reduced their total hours of 70 hours by the number of hours driven on the earliest day of the weekly cycle). After the change, drivers are allowed to "reset" their 70-hour weekly limit to zero, by taking 34 consecutive hours without a task. This provision was introduced to combat the cumulative fatigue effects that increase each week, and allow for a full two night break (for example, during weekend breaks).
In 2005, FMCSA changed the rules again, practically removing the separate bed provisions. The driver is now required to take 8 hours of full rest, with 2 hours allowed for non-duty period, for a total of 10 hours off. This provision forces the driver to take a longer rest period without interruption, but eliminates the flexibility that allows the driver to take a nap during the day without jeopardizing their driving time. Today's rules still allow them to "divide" the bedtime, but one of the splits should be 8 hours long and the remaining 2 hours do not stop the 14 hour working hours. This rule is confusing and impractical for most drivers, so most drivers take a full 10 hour break.
In the years since 2005, groups such as the Public Citizens Litigation Group, Parents of Tired Truck Driver (PATT), Operator Owner Independent Associations (OOIDA), Citizens for Safe and Safe Highways (CRASH, PATT), and the American Trucking Association (ATA), have been working to change HOS again. Each group has their own idea of ââwhat to change, and a different agenda of why the rules should be changed.
Carrier property
The FMCSA rules prohibit driving CMV carrying properties (eg, Trucks) for more than 11 hours or driving after service for 14 hours. The 3 hour difference between the 11 hour driving limit and the 14 hour limit on duty gives the driver the opportunity to take care of non-driving tasks such as loading and unloading of cargo, refueling vehicles and required vehicle inspections, as well as non-work tasks such as eat and rest. After completing the 11 to 14 hour on-duty period, the driver must be allowed 10 hours off.
FMCSA rules prohibit drivers from operating CMV after working for 60 hours in 7 consecutive days (if motorcycle operators do not operate CMV every day of the week), or after working for 70 hours in 8 consecutive days (if motorcycle operators operate CMV every day in a week).
After collecting, for example, 70 hours of driving and work time within 8 days, the driver's daily driving limit may be reduced (70/8 = 8.75 hours of driving per day). A driver may be allowed (but not mandatory) to take 34 hours off duty to reset the weekly total back to zero (also known as "reopening clock of 34 hours").
Passenger carrier
The FMCSA rules prohibit the driving of CMV passenger carriers (eg, commercial buses and city buses, passengers, and school buses) for more than 10 hours, or driving after 15 hours of service. The 5-hour difference between the 10 hour driving limit and the 15-hour deadline on duty gives drivers the opportunity to take care of unrelated tasks such as loading and unloading passengers and luggage, and refueling vehicles, as well as non-work tasks such as eat and rest. After completing the 10 to 15 hour period, the driver must be allowed 8 hours off.
The limitations of FMCSA's weekly hours for vehicles carrying passengers are identical to the vehicle's carrier property.
After collecting, for example, 60 hours of driving and work time within 7 days, the driver's daily driving limit may be reduced (60/7 = 8.57 hours of driving per day). Motorists carrying passengers may not use the restart for 34 hours.
Notebook
Every CMV driver is required to track his time with a notebook or an ELD. The log book is just a notebook with a grid pattern on every page, dividing 24 hours a day into 15 minutes (1/4 hour) segment. The driver is required to make carbon copies of each page, so that one page can be stored with the driver (which will be produced after being checked by DOT officers), and other copies may be sent to the driver's employer.
Electronic Logging Tools can be regarded as an automated electronic log book. ELD records the same information as a manual paper pad, and requires less input from the driver. ELD automatically records the driving time and location, so the driver is only responsible for reporting on-duty and off-duty time. In this case, ELD is less susceptible to counterfeiting than paper notebooks.
The FMCSA rules require that log books (or ELD) should be recorded for any change of task status (eg, where to report for work, or start driving), city, city or village name, with country abbreviation. If a task status change occurs at a non-city location, the nearest road number and milepost or two closest intersecting highways followed by the name of the nearest city should be recorded. In addition to the time lattice, a notebook should record the date, the number of miles driven for the day, the number of trucks and trailers, the name of the introduction, the bill of lading number, and the driver's signature. The driver is required to keep a copy of each log page for seven consecutive days which must be present in the ownership and available for inspection while on duty.
Exceptions
There are many exceptions to these rules, some of which include but are not limited to:
- During bad weather or emergency driving conditions, drivers are allowed to exceed the maximum daily driving time of 11 hours. However, the driver can not extend 14 hours at the time of the task.
- Drivers exploring less than 150 miles radius from the job reporting location are not required to keep log books (but not exempt from the driving deadline), provided that their boss has an accurate record of their driving time.
- Drivers who start and stop their workday in the same location for at least 5 previous business days can drive past the 14 hour mark, for an additional 2 hours, if 11 hours of driving is not exceeded. The 16 hour rule extends the two-hour workday, but does not extend the allowable driving hours. The 16 hour rule can be called once per 34 hours reset, if 5 day pattern has been set. The driver should be released from work after the 16th hour.
- Drivers for oilfield operations in the petroleum industry, groundwater drilling operations, building materials, and utility service vehicles are permitted to restart for 24 hours.
- Retail store drivers exploring less than 100 miles of air are allowed to exceed daily driving limits for store shipments from December 10 to December 25, due to Christmas shopping season demands.
- Drivers in Alaska can drive up to 15 hours within 20 hours.
- Motorists in Hawaii are not required to keep notebooks, provided their employers keep accurate records of their driving time.
- Drivers in California are allowed up to 12 hours of driving and 16 hours of work.
- Drivers for the production of cinema or television movies are exempted if the driver operates within a 100-mile radius of air in locations where the driver reports and is released from the workplace. The driver can rest for 8 hours, and is allowed 15 hours on duty.
Enforcement
HOS is issued, among other industry-related regulations, by FMCSA. In this case, federal regulations apply only to interstate commerce. Trades that do not involve crossing the line of the country are considered intrastate, and are under the jurisdiction of the laws of their respective countries. However, most states have adopted intrastate rules that are identical or very similar to federal HOS rules.
Enforcement of HOS rules is generally handled by DOT officers from their respective states, although ordinary police officers can check the driver's logbook. Countries are responsible for maintaining weigh stations generally located on the interstate border, where drivers are withdrawn for random vehicle inspections (although some checks are based on motorist safety ratings). Otherwise, a driver may be withdrawn for random checks by police officers or DOT officials at any time. Drivers are required to keep their notebooks to their current status, and if the inspection reveals any discrepancies, the driver may "not work" until the driver has accumulated enough off-duty time to re-comply. Prohibited out means that a driver should not drive his truck for the specified limits under the risk of further penalties. Repeated violations can result in a fine of $ 1,000 to $ 11,000 and a deterioration in motorist's security rating.
Remote drivers are usually paid a mile instead of an hour. By law, truckers are not required to receive overtime pay for hours working beyond the standard 40-hour work week. Some drivers may choose to violate HOS to earn more money. Paid by a mile, any work done that is not driving is actually meaningless to the driver, providing an incentive to falsify the amount of time spent doing non-driving tasks. Motorists who falsify their notebooks often report less their non-driving duties (such as unpaid waiting and unloading), and less reported driving time or their total miles. Many drivers who receive mileage payments are not paid by actual miles or miles, instead, motor vehicle operators use computer mapping software (such as PC Miler) or published mileage guides (such as the MANDAGE Guide of the Rand McNally Domestic Carrier). PATT recommends that paying all hourly drivers would reduce HOS violations by removing incentives to "cheat the system" by driving more miles than recorded. The survey by OOIDA reports that 80% of drivers are not paid for waiting times when loading and unloading, and most drivers record this time as not on duty (while regulations require them to be recorded as on-duty). These same drivers report that they will record these times as on-duty if they are properly paid for the delay.
Drivers can get away with breaking these rules because of their paper-based notes. When a driver records the time they spend behind the wheel, there is very little to stop them from forging their notebooks. There is very shallow supervision and some drivers take advantage of this fact. Surveys show that between 25% and 75% of drivers violate HOS. Other drivers maintain more than one log book, indicating a falsified version to law enforcement officers.
Trucking companies (motor operators) can also play a role in HOS violations. Certain operators may choose to consciously ignore the HOS violations committed by their drivers, or even encourage their drivers to do so. Allowing drivers to violate HOS is an effective cost-cutting measure that is mostly used by non-unions, long hauling. Allowing HOS violations allows operators to hire fewer drivers, and run on fewer trucks than companies that follow the rules. To comply with HOS, these companies should hire more drivers (possibly raising wages) and buy additional trucks and trailers. Making changes to comply with laws is complicated by competition with operators that comply with HOS regulations. Due to this competition, operators who choose to switch from non-compliance can not continue all the increased costs associated with HOS compliance to their customers.
In 1999, two trucking company officials were sentenced to a federal prison for violating hours of service regulations. Charles Georgoulakos Jr. and his brother, James Georgoulakos was sentenced to four months in prison, eight months in a confinement house, and a year of supervised release. Their company, C & amp; A Trucking Company from Londonderry, New Hampshire, was placed on a two year trial period and fined $ 25,000 (maximum amount). The sentence is the result of an investigation that began when one of the truck drivers was involved in a collision at Interstate 93 in Londonderry on August 2, 1995, in which four people were killed.
The defendants admitted that they deliberately and deliberately allowed trucking employees to break the hours of service security rules. The corporation executes a scheme to hide the illegal driving hours from detection by a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) safety investigator who conducts periodic checks on trucking company records. This scheme involves drivers who pay "off the books" for illegal driving time through accounts other than normal payroll accounts.
Some private and public carrier vehicles such as Frito-Lay, United Parcel Service, and Werner Enterprises, have voluntarily implemented on-board electronic recorders to ensure drivers comply with federal regulations, to reduce errors and hassles associated with paper log books, and to improve driver retention and recruitment. EOBRs automatically record the driving time and can not be easily falsified. Any violation of HOS will automatically be recorded and reported to the company. FMCSA is considering making EOBR compulsory for all motor operators.
Rewriting Service Hour
While the 11 and 14 hour rules are still valid, the driver will also be required to take a 30 minute break after 8 hours on assignment time. The provisions of 34 hours restart will remain in effect. However, drivers will only be allowed 1 restart per week (168 hours). Up to 2 hours, both on the bedside-temporary bed in the passenger seat will be counted as off-duty. Drivers in parked CMVs that are not in bed should record them on duty.
This rule has been codified into the Final Rules, and will enter into force on 27 February 2013 (for additional Off Duty allowances) and July 1, 2013 (for break rules, and restart limits).
HOS End Rules On December 27, 2011 (76 FR 81133), FMCSA issued a final rule that changed the working hours regulations (HOS) for motor vehicle automotive motorists (CMV). The final rule adopts some changes to HOS rules, including new provisions requiring the driver to rest during the work day under certain circumstances. The driver can drive a CMV only if 8 hours or less has passed since the end of the driver's last term or sleeping for at least 30 minutes. FMCSA does not specify when the driver should take a 30 minute pause, but the rules require that they wait no more than 8 hours after the last rest period or sleep-sleep for it or longer to rest. Drivers who have taken shorter breaks during the day can comply with the rules by taking one of the shorter breaks and extending it to 30 minutes. The new terms take effect on July 1, 2013.
On August 2, 2013, the US Court of Appeals for the Circuit District of Columbia issued its decision on the Hours of Service litigation brought by the American Trucking Association and Public Citizen. The Court upholds the 2011 Working Hours regulations in all aspects except for a 30 minute break provision as it applies to short-distance drivers. While the decision is not formally valid until the mandate is issued 52 days after the decision (unless a party petitioned for rehearing, either by panel or en banc, or moves to remain mandated awaiting petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court), FMCSA announces that the Agency will immediately stop enforcing the break rest rule 30 minutes from the HOS rules against short-range operations. The Agency requested that State law enforcement partners also suspend enforcement of this provision. The countries that do so will not be found in violation of the Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). Effective ENFORCEMENT POLICY 2 August 2013, FMCSA will no longer enforce 49 CFR 395.3 (a) (3) (ii) against any drivers eligible for any of the "short-range" exception exemptions described in 49 CFR 395.1 (e) 1) or (2). The Agency requested that State and local law enforcement agencies also refrain from enforcing a 30-minute rest break against this driver. Specifically, the following drivers will not be subject to a 30-minute break requirement: o All drivers (CDL and non-CDL) operating within 150 air miles of their normal work reporting locations and meeting the time limits and record keeping requirements 395.1 (e) (1 ).
o Non-CDL drivers operating within a radius of 150 air miles at locations where the driver reports for tasks and meet time limits and record keeping requirements 395.1
See also
- Bus driver
- Commercial driving license
- Driver's working hours (EU)
- Federal Motor Car Transportation Administration
- Glossary of trucking industry in the United States
- Public Citizenship Litigation Group
- Trucker
- Tachograph
- Truck industry in the United States
- US. Department of Transportation
- Railway engineer
- The airline pilot
- Captain
References
External links
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
- Parents Against Tired Drivers (PATT) & amp; Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highway (CRASH)
- Owner-Owner Owner Operator Association (OOIDA)
- The American Truck Association (ATA)
- Sample Log Book
- Smartphone-based smartphone log for Service Hours
This article incorporates public domain material from United States Government documents "FMCSA Sites, Federal Motor Carrier Transport Administration ".
Source of the article : Wikipedia