The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) believes that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) new hours-of-service rules will have minimal impact on driver fatigue.
"After almost 65 years of working with regulatory controls that should have been declared obsolete decades ago, this is a pretty sorry excuse for a revision to address today’s problems," said president Jim Johnston regarding the final rule FMCSA that was announced earlier today.
Johnston said that until truck drivers are no longer regularly pressured to meet unrealistic delivery deadlines, and no longer forced to perform uncompensated work for as many as 33 to 44 hours per week, will the industry see a significant reduction in fatigue issues.
Johnston said the association wants FMCSA, Dept. of Transportation (DOT) and Congress to understand the limited safety improvements that can be made through this rule.
Not until shippers and carriers stop pressuring drivers to break the rules, and drivers are paid for all the work they do, will the hours-of-service rules have their intended effect, Johnston said.