The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced its upcoming collaboration to work with the trucking industry to inform it of safety features and their advantages during the American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Exposition. A new program for young drivers and proposed changes to the hours of service rule were also discussed at the conference.
About the Collaboration Program
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is collaborating with the American Transportation Research Institute, the ATA and its Technology & Maintenance Council. The U.S. Department of Transportation has funded a two-year program to assess the effectiveness of safety technology like lane departure warnings or automatic emergency braking. The program will increase education and speed adoption.
Currently, some truck manufacturers like Volvo Trucks North America offer partially automated safety features on their newer models. These features can reduce crashes and fatalities. Currently, there are no federal regulations that require commercial trucks to install automated safety features.
New Pilot Program for Young Drivers
The FMCSA also announced a new pilot program that would allow drivers aged 18 to 20 who had a background in military transportation to qualify for commercial licensure. Currently, drivers must be 21 to drive interstate, although they can drive intrastate. The new rule will also apply to military and National Guard reservists.
The FMCSA believes that these drivers will be safe drivers and can also help fill the gap in the need for experienced commercial drivers. These drivers would need a minimum of 400 hours of training. Two bills are currently pending that would allow for this new rule if passed. However, there are some opponents have lodged opposition to the passage of the rules, believing that these drivers will have much less driving experience and be at greater risk for crashes.
Proposal to Change Hours of Service Rule
A current proposal to change the hours of service rule is currently pending. Among other changes, the proposal seeks to increase the short-haul exemption from 100 to 150 air miles and the driving day from 12 to 14 hours. Additionally, if passed, truck drivers would be able to split the 10-hour off-duty time into blocks of seven and three hours and would allow an off-duty break of up to 3 hours, which would allow up to 17 hours of drive time in a day if the driver took 10 off-duty hours before the shift. Flexibility would also be added to the 30-minute break requirement.
However, not everyone is happy about the proposed changes, citing safety concerns. The hours of service rule exists to avoid fatigued driving, and opponents believe that longer work days will increase the number of fatigued-driving accidents. The FMCSA has received more than 2,000 comments in response to the proposed rule change. The administrator of the FMCSA also believes that the proposed rules could result in court challenges.
Help for Truck Accident Victims
Much of the conference centered upon the idea of safety. When a commercial truck crashes into a much smaller vehicles, the consequences are often fatal or catastrophic. Having safety equipment installed on commercial trucks is expected to decrease the number of accidents and minimize their impact when they do occur. When a person is injured by a negligent truck driver, he or she can seek assistance from an experienced truck accident lawyer to pursue compensation for the damages that he or she has sustained.
