Heavy Duty Trucking, May 2018
A House bill would allow truck drivers a daily break of up to three consecutive hours that would not eat into the 14 hour on duty allotment afforded them by federal hours of service rules Rep Brian Babin R TX a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced the Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers Act H R 5417 on March 29 According to Babin the legislation would modernize hours of service regulations for truck drivers The REST Act calls for a single off duty rest period that would not be counted toward the drivers 14 hour on duty allowance nor would it extend the total allowable drive limits However drivers would still need to log 10 consecutive hours off duty before the start of their next work shift The bill would eliminate the existing 30 minute rest break requirement The REST Act requires the Department of Transportation to update the hours of service regulations to allow a rest break once per 14 hour duty period for up to three consecutive hours as long as the driver is off duty effectively pausing the 14 hour clock said Babin We thank Rep Babin for recognizing the need to address the lack of options for truckers trying to safely operate under todays overly rigid federal regulations said Todd Spencer acting President and CEO of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association We want to see improvements to highway safety and what we have right now isnt going to get that done House bill aims to bend 14 hour clock It was only soft because points were not assessed But now a lot of carriers will see a dramatic impact That even large carriers compliant on ELDs were getting these violations noted means you cant be complacent about full enforcement Indeed a March announcement by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance unequivocally stated that as of April 1 commercial motor vehicle drivers operating their vehicle without a required registered ELD or a grandfathered automatic on board recording device would be placed out of service for 10 hours CVSA also said that ELD violations will be recorded on a roadside inspection report and the driver may be cited for failing to have a required electronic record of duty status After being out of service for those 10 hours the driver may continue to a final destination provided he or she has accurately documented hours of service requirements using a paper log and has a copy of the inspection report and or citation
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