Patrick O'Leary
PENALTIES HIGH FOR BREAKING REST RULES
Just as companies and manufacturing are regulated by OSHA safety regulations, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates the transportation industry. The goal in regulations for both of these entities is to protect lives, prevent accidents and improve working conditions.
Whether you’re driving truck or providing some type of service, fatigue can lead to mistakes. That’s why the FMCSA created the fatigue-fighting rules for truck drivers. Utilizing years of scientific research, the FMCSA feels they have created a fair and balanced approach that will result in an estimated $280 million in savings from fewer large truck crashes and $470 million in savings from improved driver health. The end result is the protection of lives.
These are the mandated guidelines we must follow with the FMCSA’s new hours-of service final rule:
- Limits the maximum average work week for truck drivers to 70 hours, a decrease from the current maximum of 82 hours;
- Allows truck drivers who reach the maximum 70 hours of driving within a week to resume if they rest for 34 consecutive hours, including at least two nights when their body clock demands sleep the most, from 1- 5 a.m., and;
- Requires truck drivers to take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a shift. The final rule retains the current 11-hour daily driving limit and 14-hour work day.
Companies and drivers that commit egregious violations of the rule could face the maximum penalties for each offense. Trucking companies and passenger carriers that allow drivers to exceed driving limits by more than three hours could be fined $11,000 per offense, and the drivers themselves could face civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense.
No one ever wants to pay a fine, but there is no price that can be placed on lost lives due to driver fatigue.
About the author: Patrick O’Leary, President and Owner of On Demand Transportation, a full service, privately owned, asset based transportation provider specializing in truckload and LTL (less than truckload) shipments. No load is too big or too small. We can move your freight from beginning to end. Our transportation experts provide personalized service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Demand the Best… with On Demand Transportation!
GOVERNMENT AUDIT ENFORCES REST RULE FOR COMMERCIAL DRIVERS
Commercial motor carriers move over 11.4 trillion dollars of freight making up 63% of goods shipped by consumers, businesses and manufacturers. According to The Bureau of Transportation Statistics Facts and Figures – they estimate that freight volume will have increased by 42 percent by 2040 to 28.5 billion tons compared to 20 billion tons in 2013.
State inspections help to keep unsafe vehicles off the road, with the intention of reducing accidents from loss of breaks, oversized loads, etc. When hauling oversized loads, extra permitting is required to ensure safety for all involved. Allowing extra time for the paperwork to be processed is an important part of planning for both the business and the transportation provider.
Although vehicle safety is important, fatigue is the number one cause of accidents in motor vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) current hours of service regulations limit the number of hours a commercial driver can work per day to 14 hours. However, delays at shipping and receiving facilities during cargo loading and unloading may result in travel delays and lost wages for drivers.
FMCSA will begin a focused audit push starting in August 2016 to determine where delays are occurring and ensuring rest rules are being enforced. Delays experienced in shipping and receiving will begin to trickle down through the supply chain. Carriers may opt to work with those companies who have efficiencies in their shipping and receiving process, or need to adjust pricing for companies with consistent shipping and receiving delays to cover lost wages.
As companies and manufacturing continue to expand their production and the supply of goods increase, it will be important for logistics schedulers to efficiently receive and ship their product. These efficiencies will lead to higher profits for the company and develop solid relationships with their transportation carriers.
At the end of day, we all travel the highways with commercial trucking as well as our families. Fatigue can affect us all. Whether you are leaving for vacation or driving truck for a living, everyone wants to arrive at our destination safely.
About the author: Patrick O’Leary, President and Owner of On Demand Transportation, a full service, privately owned, asset based transportation provider specializing in truckload and LTL (less than truckload) shipments. No load is too big or too small. We can move your freight from beginning to end. Our transportation experts provide personalized service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Demand the Best… with On Demand Transportation!
THE NATION’S INFRASTRUCTURE
As all truck drivers know normal wear and tear on their trucks can be greatly affected by road conditions. Every politician uses the nation’s infrastructure as a hot topic to help get elected, yet year after year little is done to help improve the conditions of the highways, or what little is done merely places a band aid on an open wound.
With many owner operators running on a tight budget things such as decreasing mpg due to poor road conditions or truck damages can eat into their profits, making it harder to stay in business.
While it is expected that snow covered roads slow down traffic, create a mess on the highways, and decrease fuel mileage, many truck drivers find that worn out roads do just the same. Things like potholes, temporary road patches or just rough roads decrease the trucks efficiency causing drivers to have to use more fuel to go the same distances.
Drivers have said that over the years they have watched roads get continually worse. Many politicians have pushed to move cargo transportation to rail but the industry has yet to see a slowdown in shipping by truck. Many owner operators have said that they actually see an increase in goods to be shipped and a decrease in drivers to do it.
While there is little truckers can do to fix this problem, it is now more important than ever to keep your truck maintained. With rougher roads a worn out tire or suspension is more likely to give out than a well maintained one. Another strategy to consider, when possible during route planning, avoid highways or states that you know to be in bad shape.
Until the nation’s roads are fixed, preplanning and strategic routing are truckers only defense when dealing with the roads that carry our nation’s goods. Stay safe and report major road issues to your local government to help increase the pressure to fix the local highway systems.
About the author: Patrick O’Leary, President and Owner of On Demand Transportation, a full service, privately owned, asset based transportation provider specializing in truckload and LTL (less than truckload) shipments. No load is too big or too small. We can move your freight from beginning to end. Our transportation experts provide personalized service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Demand the Best… with On Demand Transportation!
CONSTRUCTION WINS WITH SOLID TRANSPORTATION PROVIDER
With the spring finally breaking, construction is in full swing. As projects move along, there are many things that can affect the cost of a project. Client change orders, specialized equipment and on-time deliveries.
Contractors rely on transportation providers who play a critical role in hauling cement, aggregates, lumber, and other building materials to and from a project site. What happens when a shipment of steel or lumber doesn’t arrive on time? Or, if there is a delay in the arrival of an oversized piece of equipment that wasn’t permitted correctly and failed to arrive at the job site? The job stops, the contractor loses time and money with each passing hour.
These are some things that can affect a timely delivery that are beyond anyone’s control:
- Highway accidents
- Road construction backups
- Mechanical breakdowns
Communication from beginning to end is key to On Demand Transportation’s success. From pickup to delivery we are in continuous communication with our clients and our drivers every step of the way. If there is something unforeseeable such as a traffic accident, we notify the client of the delay in real time, not when the driver shows up late. This allows time for the client to make any adjustments necessary to account for the unexpected delay.
Because restrictions vary by state and can change without notice, transporting oversized loads and specialized equipment requires special attention to detail. These loads can be particularly challenging for individuals that are unfamiliar with The Department of Transportation’s rules and regulations.
A transportation provider practices extreme due diligence in order to keep up with these changes. For example: height and weight restrictions, permits, escorts, route surveys and hours of operation just to name a few. When executing an oversize shipment, our attention to detail is second to none.
Specialty trailers are typically utilized for transporting your odd sized or unique equipment. Depending on the load and type of material transported, some clients may require tarping. Each client is different in the requirements and it’s important that transportation companies do their best to accommodate these requests. Customer service and delivery in the details are some of the reasons a carrier is chosen for a job.
At On Demand Transportation, we work hard 24/7 to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction with quality workmanship, extraordinary professionalism, and friendly customer service. Call 724-903-0309 or email poleary@odt247.com to experience the difference. You have nothing to lose and peace of mind to gain in working with a reliable transportation provider that offers ongoing communication throughout your delivery process.
About the author: Patrick O’Leary, President and Owner of On Demand Transportation, a full service, privately owned, asset based transportation provider specializing in truckload and LTL (less than truckload) shipments. No load is too big or too small. We can move your freight from beginning to end. Our transportation experts provide personalized service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Demand the Best… with On Demand Transportation!