Be Carefjul what you ask for

The headline is out the new NOS have been decided. The Teamsters may get what they want. But a 40 hour in 8 day work week will hurt them too because they will not be able to work any overtime. The new HOS rules will be politically motivated and even more egregious than they already are.
The Hours of Service rules are not about safety. If they were drivers would not be forced to drive 11 hours without stopping after a three hour load or unload. The Judge that has ruled three times against the HOS has probably never been inside a modern truck, let alone ridden in one or driven one. The only rule he liked was the one that limited drivers to 14 hours of work and driving combined.

Lets make it so drivers can only drive 8 hours a day, but do away with the 60 and 70 hour rules. Do away with the 34 hour reset. Let drivers work and drive 14 hours a day drop the driving hours to 8 hours a day, but stop telling me that I can only work 70 hours in 8 days and that I have to "work" or be on duty a minimum of 1 hour every day for free. Stop taking drive time away when I have to fuel my truck or wait at a shipper or receiver.

Also in all the statistics used to set up these new HOS did anyone ask how many hours the drivers of the cars ( the vehicles that cause over 90% of the truck vs. car accidents) had driven the day of the accident? Has any one asked how many hours the car driver worked at their job before hitting the road and crashing into the back of a truck that is moving 20 miles slower than the cars move? The new HOS rules along with the Wonderful CSA 2010 (another rule developed by whiz kids in the interest of safety) will cause an even larger driver shortage.

I for one will have to file for bankruptcy and return my truck to the dealer. You see the only constant is that I get paid by the mile, and in order to make money I have to drive. I do not enjoy sitting in my truck trying to rest in 100+ degree heat for 10 hours (Note I am no longer allowed to idle my truck because it burns fossil fuels and running my Air Conditioner to cool it off so I can get adequate rest is illegal and heating or cooling the sleeper is considered a luxury. Sitting inside the truck stop gets you no rest and if you happen to fall asleep in the television lounge you get asked to leave, probably by the same person that will call local law enforcement if you idle your truck.

I cannot afford to "just get a room" like the lady from the Virginia DMV that ordered rest areas closed in that state.
To the teamsters I say I honestly hope you get what you want. After about three months you will probably all go bankrupt too because you cant work overtime, which is probably the only way you can afford to keep paying your union dues.

The HOS are not about safety and neither is CSA 2010, they are both about power, the power of the Government to regulate, and the power of the almighty union to dictate to its members who will govern them.