My boss Jim Hoffa doesn’t think truck drivers should be allowed to drive 18-wheelers on the highway when they’re exhausted. And he’s right.
But the trucking industry disagrees. The industry, represented by the American Trucking Associations, seems to care more about making money than protecting the health and safety of truckers – and everyone else who drives on our roads. They’re fighting to preserve a Bush-era rule that allows drivers to work dangerously longer hours.
Back in 2003, the trucking industry persuaded the Bush administration to expand truck drivers’ allowable work days and work weeks. Ironically, they did so because Congress ordered them to come up with safer hours-of-service regulations.
Led by Hoffa, the Teamsters have been fighting that regulation ever since. The Teamsters and their allies twice convinced the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that the regulation was unsafe, unsound and contrary to law.
Still, the Bush administration re-instituted the regulation just before leaving office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi included it on her list of midnight regulations that undermine the protection of Americans at home, at work and in the community.
The Teamsters sued to overturn the rule. In October, we agreed to put the lawsuit on hold if the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) agreed to revise it.
FMCSA is holding four listening sessions before it decides how to change the rule. This week in Washington, D.C., Teamsters Health and Safety Director LaMont Byrd commented on hours-of-service at the first listening session.
Three more listening session are coming up this month in Dallas, Los Angeles and Davenport, Iowa.
Hoffa is right that tired men and women shouldn’t be driving 40-ton trucks at high rates of speed – or at any rate of speed. Here’s one scary statistic that shows why: the percentage of fatal crashes that result from driver fatigue rose 20 percent from 2004 to 2005, the first year in which the longer hours of driving were allowed.
This isn’t just about truck drivers – it’s about the safety of pedestrians and motorists and anyone who isn’t a shut-in. Here’s hoping the FMCSA will get the hours-of-service rule right this time.
You can read more about the Teamsters' efforts on this issue by clicking on these links:
DC Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling
Pelosi's List of Midnight Regulations
Teamsters Hours of Service News Release