Yesterday, the American Transportation Research Institute (ARTI) released its report on the operational and economic impacts of the new, reduced hours of service rules that went into effect on July 1, 2013.
More than 2,300 drivers and 400 carriers participated in the study. In addition, logbook data from 40,000 drivers was evaluated.
The changes to HOS limited the the use of the 34-hour restart had the most dramatic impact on drivers, the study says. Under the previous HOS provisions, there were no limitations on restarts.
Respondents of the survey said that it now requires more drivers to haul the same amount of loads, which has resulted in decreased pay for a number of drivers.
A total of 67.4 percent of drivers reported experiencing a decrease in pay since the July 1st HOS changes, to the tune of an estimated $1,659,985,289.
Among the operational and economic impacts identified by ATRI are:
- More than 80 percent of motor carriers surveyed have experienced a productivity loss since the new rules went into effect, with nearly half stating that they require more drivers to haul the same amount of freight.
- Among commercial drivers surveyed by ATRI, 82.5 percent indicated that the new HOS rules have had a negative impact on their quality of life, with more than 66 percent indicating increased levels of fatigue.
- Commercial drivers are forced to drive in more congested time periods, although the FMCSA Regulatory Impact Analysis did not address increased safety risks with truck traffic diversion to peak hour traffic.
- The majority of drivers (67%) report decreases in pay since the rules took effect.
- The impacts on driver wages for all over-the-road drivers total $1.6 billion to $3.9 billion in annualized loss.
“We anticipated significant impacts on our operations and across the entire supply chain from the new rules and our experience since July 1st is bearing that out,” commented Kevin Burch, President of Jet Express. “ATRI’s analysis clearly documents the productivity impacts and real financial costs being borne by carriers and drivers. It’s only a matter of time before these impacts ripple throughout the nation’s economy.”
A copy of this report is available from ATRI by clicking here.