ATA Supports Proposed HOURS Act

by Jake Tully - Published: 6/22/2018

Earlier this week, the ATA reported that the association supports the introduction of the Honest Operators Undertake Road Safety Act, an act that provides common sense relief in regards to hours-of-service as well as providing flexibility to drivers.

Otherwise known as the HOURS Act, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear reports that introducing such a bill may help optimize the supply chain following the implementation of the ELD Mandate earlier this year.

"Now that the trucking industry is coming into full compliance with the electronic logging mandate, the next step in improving truck safety and supply chain efficiency is to use the data these ELDs collect to make needed improvements to the underlying hours-of-service rules," said Spear. "Congressman Crawford has been a leader on these issues, and a passionate advocate for drivers and carriers of all sizes, so we are proud to support this important legislation that will provide flexibility for millions of drivers while enhancing truck safety."

The ATA reports that following the ELD implementation across the industry, one of the major concerns follows the flexibility of the hours-of-service rules as opposed to the ELD use itself.

"Many complaints associated with ELDs are really issues with the hours-of-service rules themselves – issues that were papered over by inaccurate or falsified logbooks," said President and CEO of Stewart Transport Inc Collin Stewart. "ELDs have made it more difficult for drivers to 'fudge' their logs, but have also shown where the weaknesses in the HOS rules are. The solution proposed by Congressmen Crawford, Westerman and Bishop is a reasonable one and we urge Congress to quickly move on it."

Spear reports that the collective action from Congressmen Rick Crawford, Sanford Bishop and Bruce Westerman in introducing the bill may prove as step towards improving the nature of work for drivers in North America.

"Congressmen Crawford, Westerman and Bishop have provided a roadmap for improving the current hours-of-service rules, while maintaining the safety of our highways," said Spear. "This narrow and targeted relief would improve the lives of millions of professional drivers and we ask Congress to support it."