Posted on 06/30/2013 5:44:40 PM PDT by matt04
The federal government thinks long-haul truckers like Bryan Spoon need more rest.
But with the Department of Transportation's new rules forcing drivers to take longer breaks and cut back on hours behind the wheel, Spoon thinks the government has created a solution looking for a problem.
"I wish the government would just quit trying to fix something that's not broken," he said on a recent rest stop in Columbia, Mo., after hauling a load of construction materials on the 48-foot Great Dane flatbed behind his 2009 Volvo 780.
"If I get any more breaks out here I won't be able to make a living," he said.
Starting Monday, drivers like Spooner will have to stick to a schedule that requires taking a 30-minute break in the first eight hours of driving, cut the maximum workweek to 70 hours from 82, and "restart" those 70 hours with a 34-hour break once a week.
The rules are part of a program by the Obama administration to make U.S. highways safer by reducing the number of truck accidents and fatalities. The program also includes a safety rating system that shippers can review when they chose a new carrier, with the goal of prodding the trucking industry to further improve the safety of its drivers and equipment.
"The updated hours of service rule makes three common sense, data-driven changes to increase safety on our roadways and reduce driver fatigue, a leading factor in large truck crashes," said Anne Ferro administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which issued the rules, in a statement.
Ferro was not available for an interview.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
The less hours these drivers can work the more people the Companies will have to hire.
Another Obama plan to put more people to work, by screwing over those already working.
IOW, "Mind their own business"
Those truckers are hard-working people if they cannot afford a 30-minute lunch break in the first eight hours of driving. The 70 hours per week (let alone 82!) are also not easy; that's 10 hours of work every single day! Something is wrong with the industry if people are forced to work that much.
Team drivers.
You will pay more at the store for items trucked. Get ready for some inflation ...
Teamster plan to get rid of the Independent contractor. The killed the last American cowboy.
Is it not conceivable that these drivers WANT to work longer hours? By doing so, they can make a better profit.
I was a seaman for 34 years and regularly worked 100+ hours per week for months on end. When you are away from home and/or family, you do not mind working long hours to fill the time that you would spend on those endeavours.
What road trip doesn’t involve lots of driving?
The 70 hours per week (let alone 82!) are also not easy; that’s 10 hours of work every single day! Something is wrong with the industry if people are forced to work that much.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Let me take a stab here and say you have NEVER been self employed or worked Heavy Construction.
Unless of course you ‘forgot’ the s/.
I was thinking the same thing as you are. Glad I read all the comments first.
“That was when my wife was upset because I worked a 129 hour work week.”
You must have cheated space time by working a 129 hour work week.
They have to cut the workload for U.S. truckers so there’ll be work for the illegal Mexican truckers who are now allowed to travel our roads...
Something is wrong with the industry if people are forced to work that much.”
I presume you’ve never been self employed or had your own business. You would understand the plight of the independent trucker if you did. There is no one bank rolling them. They drive and haul or they don’t have any money to pay the license, taxes, insurance, fees, gas, oil and maintenance for their trucks. Then on top of that most of them have a family they are trying to support.
You would not believe the fees some states charge truckers. Large companies can absorb them or add to their rates, independents can’t do that.
Probably not uncommon for someone like say, a farmer. 168 hours in a week, 5 hours sleep a night, 18.5 hours of work a day.
70 hours is an easy week, when you’re running your own business.
Okay, that’s the trucker’s point of view. Now how about the point of view of non-truckers?
A 70 hour workweek in a dangerous job that requires maximum alertness is perfectly reasonable. If you ask me, it should be 40. And it’s jaw-dropping that the old limit was 82. Are you kidding me?! I’m sharing the highways with the WALKING DEAD? So they can make more money?
It’s not okay for airline pilots to fly as much as the want without resting, and it’s not okay for truckers. If they don’t sleep, they aren’t just risking their own lives — they’re risking mine.
They don’t own the highways and they don’t have that right.
But I consider my work easy. I only need to sit in front of several computers, move the mouse, and press keys on keyboards. I cannot compare that to the work of a trucker. In my job I can stop and relax at any time, and then continue. A trucker needs far more time to stop and to start again. He cannot even take a random exit - it may be not safe for his truck. If I make a mistake, it's not a big deal, I press Backspace and correct the problem right away. If a trucker makes a mistake, it may be hard to extricate his remains. Our jobs are not even comparable.
I'm not against people being free to work as much as they want. However it becomes a problem when an industry requires a worker to work 82 hours to just make ends meet. It's just not healthy for the worker and his family. He shouldn't have to work more than 40-45 hours per week simply to survive. If that's the case, the trucker's labor is undervalued. Are there too many truckers? Are there companies who charge far below the average, thus dragging the average down?
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