The Transportation Department has been looking into the possibility of changing regulations that require truckers to take specific breaks throughout their shifts.
Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “Hours of Service Regulations,” truck drivers are only allowed to drive 11 hours a day without a break. Once they hit the 11th hour of driving, truckers must stop and rest for at least a half-hour. Truckers also must end their shift for the day 14 hours after they start, regardless of how much downtime they had during their break.
Every year, hundreds of people are killed in accidents caused by sleepy truck drivers. And although the Hours of Service Regulations are intended to reduce fatal truck accidents, many truckers say the regulations make their job more difficult to perform. That’s because truckers earn their bonuses on miles driven, not how much time they clock. As a result, forced brakes are causing some drivers to push the envelope to make up the miles they lost.
In December 2017, the Transportation Department started to require all long-haul trucks have electronic logging devices. But now, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration might let truckers split up their sleep time.
