Trucking Advocate and Activist Allen Smith of TruthAboutTrucking.com : Articles Current News and Information for CDL Truck Drivers and Truck Driving Students…"Raising the Standards of the Trucking Industry"
Like the movie with the same name, is the perfect storm brewing for the U. S. trucking industry? With the possibility of more than a quarter of a million truck drivers facing termination from their driving careers from the CSA 2010 initiative, coupled with the talk of changing the current HOS rules, is there a a catastrophic event heading straight toward professional drivers and trucking companies alike?
The hours of service rule for truck drivers could be looking at losing two hours of driving time, along with doing away with the 34 hour restart rule. The ATA and company CEO’s fear that these two aspects combined will reduce productivity among drivers. ATA Chairman, Tommy Hodges stated that the CSA 2010 will be a “free agency for drivers.” He went on to say, “a driver that knows he’s got a good record, he knows how to abide by the rules, and he knows and understands his value to your company, (is) going to come in and say, ‘look at my score, you’re going to pay me 50 cents a mile or I’m going to go to XYZ,’ and he will.” He went on to comment that productivity loss could be as high as 18 percent if the changes are indeed made.
No doubt that losing two hours of driving time and the 34 hour restart will change the way trucking companies operate, but could not adding additional time for rest also increase productivity by eliminating much of the “pushing of drivers” to run further and harder? The industry sees the loss of revenue coming by not being able to push their drivers beyond their physical and mental limits in order to get the freight delivered and move on to the next load. Are the industry leaders more concerned with the loss of dollars than the safety of their drivers?
Truck drivers operated under the former set of HOS rules for years and did just fine.The new HOS rules, if they occur, will basically return nearly as they were before.Is the industry fearful of losing their ability to push their drivers’ work loads, or more afraid of the good, safe and professional drivers gaining more control over their own careers?
Driver Fatigue is no stranger to the trucking industry. The FMCSA has performed studies in the past in order to better understand what causes driver fatigue and how to reduce it by correcting the major contributing sources.
Back in 1996, a 7 year study, The Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study (DFAS), was published by the FMCSA evaluating driver fatigue. At the time, Hours of Service was under review and many contributors to driver fatigue were considered. The cost of this study was 4.45 million dollars. This is the Introductions written by the FMSCA concerning this study.
“The Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study (DFAS) was the largest and most comprehensive over-the-road study ever conducted on driver fatigue and alertness in North America. It provides extensive information on the alertness, driving performance, and physiological and subjective states of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers as they perform real-life, revenue-generating trips. This Executive Summary overviews the objectives, methods, principal findings, and safety implications of this landmark 7-year study.”
During this comprehensive study this is what was concluded in regards to the concerns of Sleep Apnea:
“Although this study was not designed to determine a population prevalence, analysis of subject sleep revealed that two of the 80 drivers (2.5%) had clinically-diagnosable apnea, a sleep disorder characterized by breathing cessations. The driving performance of these two individuals was not statistically different from that of other comparable drivers in the study.”
The Study concludes with:
ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS FOR FATIGUE MANAGEMENT:
“There is no quick fix and no single solution to the fatigue problem. Sleep is the principal countermeasure to fatigue…. Partnerships among government, industry, drivers, safety groups, the scientific community, and shippers are needed for effective solutions to the commercial motor vehicle driver fatigue problem.”
In an article by Misty Bell of eTrucker , Mary Gunnels, director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Medical Programs made the statement “We know that fatigue is a problem,” she said, “and we know that sleep apnea is a major contributor to fatigue.”
Do we really know that sleep apnea is the major contributor? Where is the data?
In that same article, Martin R. Walker, chief, FMCSA Research Division, pointed to the prevalence of sleep apnea in commercial truck drivers, noting that a study published in 2002 found that almost a third of CMV drivers have mild to severe obstructive sleep apnea. This study, along with a later study, found that older age and higher body mass index are two factors commonly linked with sleep apnea.
30% of drivers have mild to severe sleep apnea? How could that be? The 7 year study performed by the FMCSA didn’t come close to those figures?
I decided to look at the research, and this is what I came up with:
It appears that these figures and statements made during the Sleep Apnea & Trucking Conference of May 12, 2010 were possibly based on this study. At least this is the only study I could find actual data on.
The study was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Sleep Apnea Study. The research was conducted during 1996 to1998. Sleep apnea is a condition in which a narrowing or closure of the upper airway during sleep causes repeated sleep disturbances, and possible complete awakenings, leading to poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness. This study was completed to assess the risks of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes due to the presence of sleep apnea among truck drivers.
Basically, this study involved 1391 drivers. The drivers were asked a series of questions, including their height and weight, sleep patterns, medical history, snoring, etc. This was used as a screening process to determine which drivers were most likely to have sleep apnea. Out of the 1391 drivers, 406 were selected as a result of their questionnaire, to proceed with the overnight laboratory study in order to determine how many of them were accurately predicted to have sleep apnea.
The results were as follows:
64% or 260 of the 406 flagged for most likely to have sleep apnea had no sleep apnea.
21.2% or 86 of the 406 flagged for most likely to have sleep apnea had mild sleep apnea. 7.9% or32of the 406 flagged for most likely to have sleep apnea had moderated sleep apnea.
6.9% or 28 of the 406 flagged for most likely to have sleep apnea had severe sleep apnea.
Now, the above percentages and figures are for the 406 flagged drivers. When you perform the calculations based on the group study of ALL 1391 Drivers, here are the results ( the calculation required to accurately represent and determine % of ALL drivers):
2.0% or 28 of total 1391 drivers had severe sleep apnea ( matches the 1st study by FMCSA- DFAS) 2.3% or 32 of total 1391 drivers had moderate sleep apnea 6.2% or 86 of total 1391 drivers had mild sleep apnea.
This would mean that only 4.3% of drivers have moderate to severe sleep apnea. If you include mild sleep apnea, the % jumps to 10.5%
The following statement in the report however is the most revealing of all:
“The results of the study showed that the prevalence rates of sleep apnea among commercial truckdrivers are similar to sleep apnea rates found in other general populations.” The study also revealed that the prevalence of sleep apnea depends on the relationship between two major factors – age and degree of obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI) – with the prevalence of sleep apnea increasing with increasing age and BMI. Another meaningful study finding showed that the prevalence of sleep apnea depends on the average duration of sleep over consecutive nights at home. Short sleep duration, six hours or less per night, results in an increase in the prevalence of sleep apnea.”
Here’s that last statement again which has not been mentioned by the authorities and experts as a major source of sleep apnea,” Short sleep duration, six hours or less per night, results in an increase in the prevalence of sleep apnea.”
When you consider that the average OTR truck driver gets 5.2 hours sleep/night, then you have to wonder if it is the trucking industry lifestyle, behavior, and rules which are major causes for driver fatigue and also for creating/inducing “driver sleep apnea.”
The original hypothesis tested was the following: “A driver diagnosed with sleep apnea is more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash than a driver with no history or symptoms of sleep apnea, after controlling for differences in the other predictor variables included in the model.“
Finally, the study concluded to say, “No association was found between sleep apnea presence or severity and multiple crashes. This suggests that the commercial drivers in this study who were diagnosed with sleep apnea were not at increased risk for having more than one crash over the 14 year period prior to and following diagnosis…. Furthermore, there was no evidence from the data used in this study to suggest that crash risk is impacted before and after drivers are diagnosed with sleep apnea.”
There are many reasons for Driver Fatigue, and despite what many would like you to believe, lack of available sleep is the major cause. Sleep Apnea appears to represent a much smaller percentage than what is being stated. The data strongly suggests this.
Although sleep apnea is a real condition, it represents a much smaller percent of the driver population than the FMCSA and the ATA are suggesting. To screen a driver by height and weight (BMI), and neck size ( 17 or greater) is not only discriminatory, but is ludicrous. To force drivers to pay for the testing based on such information is simply wrong and unjust. A serious look at other reasons for driver fatigue should be investigated.
On the other side of that coin, if you do believe you may have sleep apnea, then you should by all means be tested and start the treatment.
The FMCSA needs to create laws, ensuring that drivers are not sleep deprived rather that associate driver fatigue on the hype of sleep apnea. It appears this is just a way to take the attention off of the real and valid reasons that drivers are fatigued, thus relieving the responsibility from carriers, shippers, and receivers who are all a part of depriving drivers from the rest they need. It’s also a way to deviate attention from the present HOS rules which need to be modified in order to aid in better and more rest for drivers.
Creating a sleep apnea testing program will be a BIG money maker for many as well as one more excuse to eliminate “undesirable” drivers from the industry.
With his permission, a local truck driver out of Nebraska recently sent me the following email:
“I have been driving for over 20 years and began working locally with a company about a year ago. I have to say that the hours of service rules for truckers can be a killer for drivers, and perhaps more so for local drivers and those new to the industry. My shift is suppose to start at 7 A.M., but often me and my slip-seat partner runs late due to various reasons beyond our control, and many times he does not make it back until 2 P.M. or later. I am accustomed to getting up around 5 A.M., so going back to sleep is impossible.”
“So, up at 5 A.M., make it to work at 2 P.M., put in a 14 hour day, so I’m done at 4 A.M., home by 4:30 A.M. On this particular day, I have been up and awake for twenty three and a half hours. This type of schedule happens very often in local driving work. Even squeezing in the 10 hour break, you are either running behind all week or completely drained of all energy for the remainder of the week, just from your first day of work. If I say anything to dispatch, I am met with “So what are you saying? Are you turning down the load?” Drivers accept this challenge everyday and do their jobs professionally, but I see no safety in this type of operation, when the industry is constantly talking about “Safety First.”
This is very typical of trucking and is the main reason why veteran drivers will always stress that trucking is not a job, but a lifestyle. Regardless, how can trucking companies stress the importance of driver safety when so many drivers are expected to operate under this kind of schedule? Too many variables in the real world can stop the fourteen hour clock instantly: traffic accidents and delays at the shipper and receiver just to mention a few. Is driver and public safety a real concern for trucking companies and the powerful trucking organizations? Or is greed the primary motive for the continuance of pushing professional truck drivers to their limits?
Just last year in 2009, a major retail corporation lobbied to Congress to push truck drivers into a 16 hour work day. Luckily, that proposal was shot down. Anyone who has driven long enough and far enough will agree that driver fatigue is a major factor within the industry. Those who say otherwise, have not driven a truck for a real living. With the hours of service rule pushing drivers harder and further, allowing their lives to be controlled by the driver logbook, the fact that there are as few big rig accidents than there are, is only a testimony to the professionalism and skill of truckers.
The regulations set forth by the hours of service rules, only makes it more difficult for drivers, while allowing the industry itself to reap greater monetary rewards . . . all on the backs of the truck drivers. Why are truckers forced to work 70 hour work weeks and 14-plus hour days with no regard to the many obstacles that are thrown in their paths? At the same time, they are required to maintain their logbooks in a legal fashion.
Is safety a real issue or is greed the motivating factor within the trucking industry? Are the current HOS rules working for professional truck drivers and does it even take into consideration the safety and health factors of truck drivers?
“How safe is the truck driver 14 hours of service rule? Truckers can work 70 hour work weeks with trucking companies, shippers and receivers showing little regard to the safety and health of the drivers. With the current HOS rules for drivers, many local truck drivers can easily be up for 20 or more hours at a time. Is the trucking industry really concerned with safety or is it nothing more than greed?”
Discussing truck driver safety on Blog Talk Radio with co-host: Barry Szczucki. If you missed the “live” show catch it now:
With the average number of miles driven per year by professional truck drivers, the dangers of living life on the road increases far beyond what the average motorist experiences. Averaging ten times more miles driven per year than the general motoring public, the professional trucker is by far, the safest driver on the road today. According to studies done by various unbiased groups, including the AAA, automobile drivers contribute more to fatal car-truck crashes than do the actions of truck drivers. Although every truck driving job requires the skill of a professional driver, there are those which come with a higher degree of danger.
Normally providing a higher pay rate, drivers involved within the petroleum carrier industry can often become like any other veteran driver with years of experience under their belts . . . relaxed, complacent . . . whatever you want to call it . . . this complacency can become a hidden danger for all truck drivers, especially those involved in the transportation of fuel and other hazardous material, and most often, with deadly results.
With all the stress placed on truck drivers, through over crowed highways, forced dispatch and an endless array of Federal Regulations, trucking companies and officials need to fully understand and realize the true importance of safety. Not just bureaucratic talk and pleasing self-interest groups, but understand that when additional pressures are placed on our men and women in trucking, additional consequences can occur, not only on our truckers, but the general public as well.
Professional drivers need the proper rest required by the human body and at the same time, they need to provide a living for themselves and their families. Veteran drivers have no problem running ten, eleven or even fourteen hours in a day . . . this is why they are professional drivers. As the FMCSA looks to further change the hours of service for truck drivers, they should maintain the 34 hour restart and provide more flexibility with the sleeper birth and the 14 hour provisions, as stated by the ATA. Furthermore, the American Trucking Association also states that rest periods should not be mandated, but the FMCSA should adopt an optional rest period that would not be counted toward the 14 hour rule.
If changing the hours of service rule for drivers, once again, the FMCSA could not take away from the current HOS rule, but add to it . . . those provisions that not only will provide additional safety factors towards drivers and the general public, but also maintain the ability for truckers to provide a living for themselves and their families. Professional truckers are up to the task in facing the lifestyle of a truck driver. They understand the importance of safety and are well prepared to abide by all regulations. The FMCSA should understand that there are ways to increase safety and still not interfere with a drivers’ means of support.
Accidents are largely caused by fatigued drivers who are not purposefully wanting to break any rules, but only working that much harder in the time allowed to bring in a decent pay check. Allow drivers to drive . . . provide for adequate resting periods, but do not take away what little they have in the current rules that keeps them rolling, but add additional safety measures that will increase their ability to earn a livable wage and still give them the rest they need to keep safety as a priority as well.
Life as a trucker has enough stress, worry and dangers involved, being constantly concerned with paying the bills and putting food on the table should not be one of them.
The proposed new rules for the hours of service regulations have been tossed out by the court, thus keeping the HOS rules the same. Set to go into effect in January, 2009, the agency officials chose to keep the current hours of service rules the same, in order to prevent more confusion to both truck drivers and law enforcement officials.
The FMCSA reiterated the fact that the current rules provide both rest and safety issues, and saw no reason in implementing further changes.
: ata, change, CSA 2010, hos, hours of service, trucking
