2004 HOS Rule Change Revisited

America's motor carriers are committed to operating safely and saving lives on the nation's highways.

The blog of the Speaker of the House referenced a rule regarding truck driver's Hours of Service (HOS) requirements. The current HOS rule established in January 2004 has resulted in safer highways nationwide. While driving time was increased by one hour, required driver rest time was also increased by two hours. Under current rules, on-duty time is one hour less than the old rules.

Safety in the trucking industry has improved markedly since these new HOS rules became effective.

• Compared with 2004, truck-involved highway crash fatalities in 2007 were down more than 8%, and are at their lowest level since 1992

• Crash-related injuries have dropped by 10,000 since 2004

• The fatality and injury crash rates for large trucks (crashes per 100 million miles traveled) are at their lowest point since the USDOT began keeping records three decades ago

Statistical data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration speaks for itself.
 
DOT officials are planning to publish three additional truck safety rules before the end of their term (rules not mentioned in the Speaker's blog) that will tighten truck safety requirements.

One will make intermodal trailers safer by imposing new inspection and maintenance rules, another will make the medical certification process for truck drivers tougher and more enforceable, and the third will substantially raise the safety bar--via a much tougher initial safety audit--for new trucking companies entering the industry.