Plans for the Weekend

The proposed new hours of service rules unveiled in the United States last month are an editorial writer’s dream, a fat, juicy apple poised on the head of a bureaucrat. We summarize them on page 49-which was about as simple as re-drafting the federal tax code as a grade-school reader.

If enacted unchanged, drivers operating in the U.S. would operate on a 24-hour work-rest cycle, same as has been proposed in Canada. The Canadian plan would allow 14 hours on duty and 10 hours off during a 24-hour period; the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants 12 on, 12 off. The vaunted $6-million, six-year study of truck driver fatigue conducted by the U.S. and Canadian governments backs up the logic of the 24-hour clock: it allows more consistent patterns of work and rest, which promotes alertness and, by extension, safety.

But science offers little on how many hours drivers should work over a period of time. That’s why regulators working on new hours-of-service guidelines in Canada decided not to alter current federal standards on cumulative hours: 60 hours in seven days, 70 hours in eight days, and 120 hours in 14 days. If the science isn’t there, we need to slow down and wait for the science to catch up, the task force said last year. With no research into the cumulative effects of fatigue on the horizon, those confusing, sometimes inflexible weekly caps apparently are here to stay.

Good thing, considering the U.S. alternative. For most trucking operations and their drivers, the U.S. weekly cap of 60 hours in seven days would stick. But after seven days, drivers would have to take a mandatory “weekend” off, comprised of two consecutive nights, midnight to 6 a.m. included. (Where they’re going to park for that “weekend”-and what will happen to the load in tow-are other sticky issues.)

If you’re looking for more flexibility, there’s an option. Long-haul drivers would be able to average their on-duty time over a 14-day period to include one workweek capped at 72 hours over six days, followed by one four-day workweek with up to 48 hours on duty. Or they can take 112 hours in two weeks that may be split at the driver’s convenience, so long as each weekend period contains two nights.

Got that? Shoot, we should all take a “mandatory weekend.” We’re going to need every last minute to figure out just how to juggle this bewildering U.S. regime with our very own.

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We’re fortunate to have Barb Butler as a contributor to our “Southern Exposure” package, which starts on page 40. There’s no one better to help you jack-and-chase through U.S. DOT drug-testing rules.

When we were talking about how to approach her story, I asked Barb to focus on compliance with the regs. She did-all the while reminding me that testing should be just one part of an overall company policy regarding drugs and alcohol.

“When a driver tests positive, the DOT says he can’t drive, so you park him,” she says. “Now testing is behind you. What next? How should you respond as an employer? Your decision will come down to what you would rather have: a mere drug testing program or a comprehensive approach to dealing with drugs and alcohol in your workplace?”

It’s a question relevant to any fleet, not just one with southbound drivers. The pre-employment positive-test rate among truck drivers in Canada is about 2%, according to the country’s two largest labs. Those who don’t pass their pre-employment test are probably hiring on somewhere, considering the desperate need for guys who can push pedals these days.

Two percent. One in 50. It’s a sobering thought.

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GOIN’ TO THE CHAPEL

Reading about all the M&A activity among industry suppliers, it’s like a Las Vegas wedding chapel out there. The headline-grabber is the Volvo-Renault V.I. deal (see page 16). The $1.59 billion US offered for Renault/Mack still leaves Volvo with plenty of krona in its jeans from the sale of its car division last year.

(How long until Volvo gobbles up International Truck and Engine? I’ve got Jan. 23, 2001, in the office pool.)

To be sure, among the truck makers, the rush to the alter has to do with broader product lines and more strategic distribution on a global scale. But don’t lose sight of the fact that powertrain development plays a role here, too.

Volvo, International, Mack, and now Freightliner Corp. (see page 71) each has ownership ties to its own North American engine line, although on the heavy side, only Mack sells engines in appreciable quantities (98% of all Macks sold have Mack power). Having your own engine line is a big deal at a time when 1) truck design is being strongly influenced by the cooling and emissions requirements of big engines; and 2) there’s a battle over whose computer will coordinate onboard electronic controls. The engine guys with their ECUs seem to be the logical choice. But the truck makers are the logical integrators of the onboard systems.

There will be closer ties than ever between the two.