HOS Rules: Ethics and Social Responsibility in Trucking

Introduction: The New Hours of Service Rule

The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a new trucking hours of service (HOS) rule, most provisions of which were scheduled to become effective July 1, 2013. Some changes, such as the definitions of "egregious violations" and "on-duty time," became effective February 27, 2012 (Smith, 2012). In reality, the new rules did not substantively affect existing driving regulations for most drivers. For example, the 11-hour driving rule remained in place, and drivers' work weeks within a 7-day period continued to be limited to 70 hours (Smith, 2012). Drivers would not be allowed to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) following an 8-hour work period until completing a 30-minute minimum rest break, though drivers retained the discretion to take that break at any point during the 8-hour period (Smith, 2012).

Although these provisions remained in place, the new rules introduced important changes to the 34-hour restart provision. According to Smith, "Professional truck drivers who maximize their 70-hour work week will be required to take at least two rest periods between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. home terminal time. Furthermore, the final rule will allow drivers to use the 34-hour restart provision only once during a 7-day period" (2012, para. 2). The new rules applied to most commercial vehicle drivers in the United States (Smith, 2012).

These are important considerations given the enormity of the U.S. trucking industry. Nearly 9 million people are employed in American trucking, with about 3.5 million of those being truck drivers. More than 70% of all cargo is delivered by trucks, representing $671 billion in manufactured and retail goods in the U.S. alone (Trucking statistics, 2012).

With all of this tonnage being transported cross-country, the nation's 15.5 million trucks and 2 million tractor-trailers are involved in their share of accidents, many involving injuries or fatalities. Current statistics show that in the United States:

• Commercial trucks are involved in 2.4% of all car accidents.
• Trucks are three times less likely to be in an accident than a regular motor vehicle.
• One person is injured or killed in a truck accident every 16 minutes.
• More than 500,000 truck accidents occur every year.
• More than 75% of truck driving accidents are due to the driver of the passenger vehicle; only 16% are attributable to the truck driver.
• Nearly 5,000 people are killed in truck accidents every year; in nearly 98% of those fatal crashes, it is the occupants of the other vehicle who are killed.
• Sixty-eight percent of truck accidents occur in rural areas, 68% during the daytime, and 78% on weekends.
• The highest number of truck accidents occur in California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania (Trucking statistics, 2012).

Current estimates indicate that about 16% of accidents involve driver fatigue — an alarming statistic that was the driving force behind the original hours of service regulations promulgated in 1935 and subsequently amended in 1937 and 1962, in an effort to limit the number of hours commercial motor vehicle drivers could work without a break (Dilger, 2003). More recently, the trucking industry has reported that the percentage of accidents attributable to driver fatigue has decreased to 4% (Trucking statistics, 2012). Each of these deaths, however, affects American families in profound and lasting ways. According to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (2012), "When commercial drivers become fatigued from excessive daily and weekly work hours, they substantially increase the risk of crashes that result in death or serious injuries. More than 750 people die and 20,000 more are injured each year due directly to fatigued commercial vehicle drivers" (Truck driver fatigue, 2012, para. 2).

Generally, vehicles are considered commercial motor vehicles when they are used as part of a business engaged in interstate commerce and satisfy any of the following criteria:

• Weighs 10,001 pounds or more;
• Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more;
• Is designed or used to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver) not for compensation;
• Is designed or used to transport nine or more passengers (including the driver) for compensation;
• Is involved in interstate or intrastate commerce and is transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placards (Summary of hours-of-service regulations, 2012, para. 1).

Table 1 below summarizes the differences between the previous HOS rule and the newly published Hours of Service Final Rule.

Table 1: Summary of Changes in the Hours of Service Final Rule Published in December 2011

Provision: Limitations on minimum "34-hour restarts"
Prior Rule: None.
Final Rule (Compliance Date: July 1, 2013): (1) Must include two periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. home terminal time. (2) May only be used once per week.

Provision: Rest breaks
Prior Rule: None, except as limited by other rule provisions.
Final Rule: May drive only if 8 hours or less have passed since the end of the driver's last off-duty period of at least 30 minutes. [HM 397.5 mandatory "in attendance" time may be included in the break if no other duties are performed.]

Provision: On-duty time
Prior Rule: Includes any time in a CMV except the sleeper berth.
Final Rule (Compliance Date: February 27, 2012): Does not include any time resting in a parked vehicle (also applies to passenger-carrying drivers). In a moving property-carrying CMV, does not include up to 2 hours in the passenger seat immediately before or after 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth.

Provision: Penalties
Prior Rule: "Egregious" hours of service violations not specifically defined.
Final Rule: Driving (or allowing a driver to drive) 3 or more hours beyond the driving-time limit may be considered an egregious violation and subject to maximum civil penalties. Also applies to passenger-carrying drivers.

Provision: Oilfield exemption
Prior Rule: "Waiting time" for certain drivers at oilfields must be recorded and available to the FMCSA, but no method or details for recordkeeping are specified.
Final Rule: "Waiting time" for certain drivers at oilfields must be shown on the logbook or electronic equivalent as off duty and identified by annotations in "remarks" or a separate line added to the "grid."

While companies were gearing up to comply with these provisions, they also had to conform to existing regulatory requirements. Table 2 below summarizes the HOS regulations that remained valid until July 1, 2013, for both property-carrying and passenger-carrying commercial vehicle drivers.

Table 2: Summary of HOS Regulations (Valid Until July 1, 2013)

Property-Carrying CMV Drivers
11-Hour Driving Limit: May drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
14-Hour Limit: May not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Off-duty time does not extend the 14-hour period.
60/70-Hour On-Duty Limit: May not drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. A driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive-day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.
Sleeper Berth Provision: Drivers using the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus a separate 2 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two.

Passenger-Carrying CMV Drivers
10-Hour Driving Limit: May drive a maximum of 10 hours after 8 consecutive hours off duty.
15-Hour On-Duty Limit: May not drive after having been on duty for 15 hours, following 8 consecutive hours off duty. Off-duty time is not included in the 15-hour period.
60/70-Hour On-Duty Limit: May not drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days.
Sleeper Berth Provision: Drivers using a sleeper berth must take at least 8 hours in the sleeper berth and may split the sleeper-berth time into two periods, provided neither is less than 2 hours.

Source: Smith, 2011.

The purpose of this paper is to use a three-value system comprised of law, morality, and social responsibility — applying different ethical principles — to analyze the response by Swift Transportation and Werner Enterprise to the new hours of service rule scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013.

Compliance with human-made laws is frequently confounded and complicated by individual interpretations and applications of natural law. In those cases where the conflict is sufficiently pronounced, the legal, ethical, and social responsibilities of organizations must respond in some fashion in order to resolve it. This resolution can be constrained by the relative importance each of these three values holds for the organization, its leadership team, and its employees, as discussed further below.

Appendix A: Hours of Service Guidance for the Revised HOS Regulations

In April 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued the first significant revision to the HOS regulations in more than 60 years. These regulations apply only to property carriers and drivers. The current rules were enforced beginning October 1, 2005. A brief summary of the hours of service regulations follows:

• A CMV driver may drive 11 hours after 10 hours off duty.
• A CMV driver may not drive beyond 14 hours after coming on duty, following 10 hours off duty.
• A CMV driver may not drive after 70 hours on duty in eight consecutive days. A driver may restart the eight-consecutive-day period after taking 34 consecutive hours off duty.

Drivers may drive up to 11 hours but are limited to 14 hours in a duty period. The 14-hour duty period may not be extended with off-duty time for meals, fuel stops, or similar activities. Only the use of an 8-hour or longer sleeper berth break can stop the 14-hour clock. Each duty period must begin with at least 10 hours off duty. The 70 hours on duty in 8 consecutive days remains the same, but drivers can "restart" the 8-day period by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off duty.

Sleeper Berth Exception

Drivers may split on-duty time using split breaks. To fulfill the requirements of the split break, a driver must have:

• One period equal to at least 8 hours in the sleeper berth;
• A separate period of a minimum of 2 hours, which may be off duty, in the sleeper berth, or a combination of the two.

Example:
Break #1: 2 Hours (Off-Duty)
Drive #1: 4 Hours
Break #2: 8 Hours (Sleeper Berth)

Drive #2: The driver would identify the two periods satisfying the split break requirements — in this example, the 2 hours off duty and the 8 hours in the sleeper berth. The driver would start calculating at the end of the first rest period. From the 4 hours of driving between the breaks:

• 11-hour rule: 11 − 4 = 7 hours available on the 11-hour rule.
• 14-hour rule: 14 − 4 = 10 hours available on the 14-hour rule.

The elapsed time in the periods immediately before and after each rest period, when added together, must not include any driving after the 14th hour. Unloading, fueling, and similar activities are still permitted after the 14th hour, but the driver must take an uninterrupted 10-hour break before driving again. The only way to stop the 14-hour clock is an 8-hour sleeper berth break.

34-Hour Restart

Any time a driver has a 34 consecutive-hour off-duty period, the driver may restart the calculation of the 60/70-hour on-duty period. The 34 hours were derived from 24 hours plus an additional 10 hours required prior to returning to duty. The 34 hours must be consecutive and may not be interrupted by on-duty or driving activities.

14-Hour Rule

A driver may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty, following 10 hours off duty. Once the driver begins any on-duty activity, the 14-hour clock begins.

Example: If a driver begins an on-duty status at 06:00, the driver must stop driving at 20:00 (14 hours later). If during that 14-hour period the driver also takes an 8-hour sleeper berth break, the driver now has until 04:00 the following morning to complete driving.

Once the 14 hours are reached, the driver may no longer drive but may continue other work activities. The driver must take a 10-hour consecutive break before resuming driving if they work beyond their 14th hour.