How the U.S. HOS Rule Change Will Affect Canadian Drivers

• Get updates on trade, Customs and regulatory changes
• Stay informed on trade compliance seminars,
  workshops and industry events

x

Today's Trucking Feb 08, 2012

When the highly anticipated U.S. hours-of-service rules were announced in December, various industry associations were quick to respond, issuing a collective what-the-hell-is-this-coal-in-our-stocking response.

What was lost in all the responses by the various associations, however, was how the new rule would affect the individual driver's day-to-day.

And as most will agree, the entire trucking industry depends on how well a driver can drive day in and day out.

I spoke with Alan Goodhall, a driver for J&R Halll Transportation, to get his thoughts on the changes, and while the rule changes will affect drivers differently, depending on what and where they run, Goodhall did provide some valuable insight.

He has a dedicated run from Ayr, ON., to Winnipeg, MN every week in which he cuts through stateside. His miles, he said, are split pretty much fifty-fifty Canada/U.S.

For roughly 80 percent of the time, it looks like drivers are going to meet the requirements of the new rules without having to think about it, Goodhall said, "Most drivers out there prefer to sleep at night and drive through the day, so meeting the 1a.m. to 5 a.m. provision probably won't be too much of a burden."

But, he asks, what happens if you work primarily nights doing open board work and want to start a reset at 7:00 a.m? "A driver like that will end up doing a 46-hour reset in order to remain in compliance. That's a problem.

When I did open board work running the Canadian west I preferred night driving in winter to avoid traffic volume to better deal with mountain weather and road conditions," he explains. "If I picked up a U.S. bound load in Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton, I would now be bound to taking two days off prior to crossing the border when resetting.

"Glad I don't do that anymore."

In regards to the change in weekly drivable hours, one can imagine that paychecks will take a hit, too, but Goodhall says that in his case, he won't lose any income as he would still be running the same miles. What he will lose, however, is home time.

Time at home is key to managing stress and anxiety, Goodhall said, and less time with the family means an increase in stress and anxiety. "In my opinion, this has a negative impact on driver safety," he said.

One of the biggest problems for Canadian drivers will be navigating their way through the red tape. Goodhall, like many drivers, has to be in compliance with both Canadian and U.S. rules on any given day. Goodhall runs an EOBR, which, he says, can't manage all the different rules from 2 jurisdictions.

"You have to be on the ball and aware of all the rules," he said. "Most often it will indicate you are not in compliance when in fact you may very well be. It can get confusing."

Certain Canadian carriers that run mostly in the U.S. operate on U.S. rules in Canada as well, just to insure they are in compliance with both. Ninety-nine percent of the time, Goodhall said, if you are legal to run stateside, you're legal to run in Canada since the rules here are a little more flexible with the longer driving time, on duty time and sleeper birth provisions.

The real problem, however, might not be in the various changes to the rule, but the very act of trying to make one overarching rule for a diverse group with varying responsibilities and demands from customers, Goodhall points out. "A fixed set of rules for everyone just isn't cutting it."

"After running the rules by the book for the last two-and-a-half years using an EOBR, I am more fatigued at the end of my work week than I was in the past," Goodhill says, a self-professed believer in sleep science.

"I feel these rules, old and new, have compromised my personal safety to some degree. There are times that I would like to stop for that quick one or two-hour nap but now I must push through because I will lose that drive time."

It's often hard to hear the voice of driver's through all the noise of politics and vested interest of governments and associations, yet perhaps we need to hear that voice now more than ever.

"Solutions to problems, legislative issues, are developed primarily from the top down and we need to find a way to develop some bottom up communication," said Goodhall when asked about the importance of drivers to speak up.

"We seem to do a lot of bitching but provide far too little constructive criticism to the front line problems we encounter," he says bluntly.

Drivers need to take seriously their responsibility to communicate with their own safety and operations people, as well as senior managers, he adds.

"There are a lot of quality people in the industry but they need good information to make good decisions and to represent their drivers effectively."

"Do it consistently and if you find that your own people are not listening to you, then maybe it's time to search for a quality carrier that will.

"It's a drivers market after all."

Read Full Article on Today's Trucking »