Provision Led to Increased Accidents

Last year, Logistec joined many other transportation industry stakeholders in calling for the 2013 HOS Restart Rule to be suspended, criticizing the provision as an unnecessary one that would force more trucks onto the road during peak traffic times, increasing the likelihood of accidents.

According to a new report released Wednesday by the ATRI, the industry's criticism and fears were actualized-the 2013 HOS Restart Rule in fact led to more accidents.

The ATRI extensively examined a large truck GPS database to identify the changes in time-of-day and day-of-week truck travel that occurred as a result of the implementation of the HOS Restart Rule. To quantify the study, the ATRI also examined several previous years' worth of pre and post-July 1 crash data. According to Daniel Murray and Jeffery Short-- the authors of the report-- the study's result:

"... appears to support the contention that the July 1, 2013 restart rule did, in fact, have the outcome intended by FMCSA; that being the shift of truck trips from nighttime driving to daytime driving. However, the unintended consequence of higher numbers of crashes at other points in the driving schedule also appears to have occurred. What is presently not known is whether the net direct costs of the post-July 1 crashes are higher than any ostensible benefit that might be associated with the driving shifts [that resulted from the rule change]."

In summary, the GPS data used to formulate the study revealed that while truck traffic shifted from night time to daytime and away from weekends in favor of weekdays --the FMCSA's original goal)-- the provision also led to the unintended consequence of causing more accidents. Not only were there more accidents as a result of the HOS Restart Rule-- the study documented an increase in the number of injury and tow away crashes. While the FMCSA succeeded in shifting the majority of drive time from night to day, they also encountered the unintended consequence of having more trucks on the roads during peak hours, resulting in more serious accidents.

Thankfully the HOS Restart provision was suspended in December of 2014 and will remain suspended until the FMCSA completes its study. Once completed, we hope the suspension will become a permanent removal. As always, Logistec will keep you updated on new developments.