In The News

EYE ON TRUCKING: HOS courier has been there before and so have we

You know it didn’t happen this way, but it sure is fun to think it might have.

The front door at the White House Office of Budget and Management opens and in walks a courier wearing a Department of Transportation identification badge.

He’s carrying a big white package.

“What’s this,” asks the security guard, a career government employee not susceptible to those frequent administration overhauls.

“It’s the Final Rule for Hours of Service,” the courier replies.

The guard and smiles and shakes his head.

“Been here before, haven’t you,” he asks.

“Yep, in 2003, or was it 2005. Oh yeah, it was both,” the courier says, handing the package to the guard.

“See you in 2009 or 2010,” the guard says.

OK, OK, we know in this day and age that the transfer probably took place electronically, but the bottom line is that by now, the office of the Secretary of Transportation has sent Final Rule for Hours of Service to the OMB for review.

According to the DOT’s Web site, the Final Rule went to OMB on Sept. 4. It is supposed to receive OMB clearance by Dec. 4.

If the timetable is followed, on Friday, Dec. 12, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator John Hill will deliver an early Christmas present to the lawyers at Public Citizen and tell us that the Final Rule is the same as the Interim Final Rule, which was the same as the 2005 rule.

Hours of Service is but one significant announcement that FMCSA is scheduled to make before the end of the year.

According to the DOT Web site, the Final Rule Medical Certification Requirement as part of the Commercial Driver’s License will be announced on Dec. 4 and the Final Rule on Electronic On-Board Recorders for HOS compliance will be announced Dec. 11.

If you want to keep track of all the rulemakings at FMCSA (and the DOT for that matter), go to http://regs.dot.gov/Rulemakings.

The site is updated monthly, so make sure you click on the link for the current month.

By the way, in a recent poll on thetrucker.com, 65 percent of the truckers who responded said the Final Rule would be the same as the 2005 rule.

One trucker summed up the most prevalent feeling within the industry when he wrote: “If the lawmakers don’t let us split the sleeper berth time, then it’s all c***. They don’t realize what we have to go through to get a load. Sometimes it takes hours waiting. This is usually the time we use to rest, but if that time is counted against men, then the load will always be late. How am I supposed to make any money, especially the way things are with fuel? They don’t understand how this business really works as long as it gets there.”

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We noticed that after some hesitation, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said he was supporting the infusion of $8 billion into the Highway Trust Fund.

At first, he was apparently hesitant to offer his support because of his pledge to cut needless spending.

We wonder if McCain’s tour business has somehow been able to avoid all those bumpy highways and congested inner-city interstates.

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Speaking of the presidential campaign, 59 percent of you who responded to our Web site poll conducted after the conventions believe that McCain will be the next president, up slightly from 53 percent in our poll taken in June.

As for which candidate has the best grasp of the big issues facing trucking and the transportation industry, 49 percent said McCain, 23 percent said Barack Obama and 28 percent said neither.

We shall see.