WASHINGTON, (Mar. 21, 2005) — The controversial U.S. hours-of-service rules — yes, the ones that were tossed out because they didn’t take drivers’ health into account — have more than a few truckers on side.

Last summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia bought the line cast by a professional lobbying group and threw out the long-awaited rules that took effect last January ’04. The court decided that the regs were problematic because — among other issues — they didn’t take into consideration “drivers’ health.”

But how do drivers feel about the rules? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is asking for driver feedback. More than 500 comments were submitted within the first week back in January, and from then until now, it seems most support the new rules. However, many did comment that they have some problems with the way breaks and rest-times are structured.

The FMCSA has until Sept. 30 2005 to formulate an ammended HOS rule that address the concerns raised by the U.S. Court. The DOT agency was originally told it needed to address the health issue and at least review several aspects the court found problematic with the rule, including increasing the maximum driving time from 10 to 11 hours; the sleeper berth provision; the 34-hour “restart” provision; and the lack of so-called “black boxes” in the mandate.

Congress, however, subsequently provided that the regulations will remain in effect until the effective date of a new final rule published by FMCSA or until Sept. 30, 2005, whichever occurs first. The FMCSA has still not considered changes to the HOS regs (and in fact recently hinted it will likely not change much, if anything substantial), but it did open a comment period in order to get a better idea from drivers and industry of what changes it could possibly make to appease the court without disrupting North American transport operations.

Ironically, few of the comments offered by drivers speak to health issues, except in the context of the restrictions place on “break time” during the 14-hour working window, like this one from driver Charles H. Garvin: “I like the hours of service as they are, but I’d like an hour or two off-duty hours in the day that will not count against my 14 hours,” he writes. “If I stop for 15 minutes every 3 or 4 hours to walk around I run over my 14 hours.”

Many other drivers expressed similar sentiments with respect to the limited opportunity for meals and breaks. Any off-duty time taken within the 14-hour window counts against available driving hours, and drivers are universally opposed to forfeiting driving time (earning time) for breaks or meals.

However, “health issues,” as far as drivers are concerned, don’t seem to extend to topics such as exposure to vibration or noise, or even exposure to diesel exhaust. Yet, among the comments posted are many studies that address such issues, and are may be taken into consideration by the agency as a result of the court-ordered examination of driver health issues.

Based on a fairly thorough review of the comments posted to the docket so far, drivers favour the 14-on, 10-off rotation — though many claim the need for break time must be considered, and the 10-hour-off requirement is excessive. “The only thing that bothers me about the ‘new’ hours of service is the 10 hours of sleeper berth time,” writes driver Vicki Sells. “Who sleeps for 10 hours? Not me, eight hours is all the average person needs.”

If the agency takes driver comments at face value, it would have to conclude that the new rules are working, drivers like them, but that they may need a bit of tweaking. The 34-hour reset is wildly popular, and many drivers report being better rested than ever before thanks to a more or less regular sleep/awake routine imposed by the rule.

“I appreciate the changes that the new hours of service have made to my work schedule. I have more efficient use of my time, and am able to plan adequate rest periods with no problems under the new hours,” writes Billy K. Galloway. “My company has been able to adopt programs to increase our pay due to shipper or consignee delays because of these rules. I also like the 34 hour restart. I can be highly productive, more so then I was able to before. I would like you to leave these hours of service rules as they are without any change.”

The rules, according to comments by drivers and carriers, don’t seem to be the disaster the harshest of critics alleged they were. It’s no secret that the government wants to get on with the rules with only slight amendments. The themes expressed in the comment docket so far may help it do just that. Although when authors of long-term scientific studies and safety advocates weigh in, all bets are usually off.