The trucking industry is going through
some changes that will make a large impact on trucking
companies. Recently, the United States Transportation
Department announced that it will make changes to the time truck
drivers are allowed to drive on a daily basis. These new
regulations will have both positive and negative effects on
consumers as well as the trucking industry.
Truck drivers will have to drive shorter hours
according to the new regulations. It is believed that with more
rest, truck drivers will be able to do their job better and it will
reduce the number of accidents that occur in the United States
every year. On the contrary, this new regulation will result in
reduction in productivity by 3 percent. The new regulations also
mean that the trucking industry will incur 18 Billion Dollars in
additional costs every year. Although this is a huge number,
regulators believe that the new rules will also save billions of
Dollars on health-care and it will reduce the accidents in the
industry.
The trucking industry is not thrilled
about the new changes and they are doing everything in their power
to influence the United States Transportation Department to make
changes to the new regulations. According to a study by
FMCSA, driver fatigue was involved in 13 percent of crashes
involving trucks. Some people would argue that these new
regulations do not work and will only make matters worse. Truck
drivers do not like to stay on the road, and longer breaks will
keep them away from home longer. If they are on the road longer
that means that they will spend less time with their families. This
issue might result in truck drivers driving faster in order to make
up for the fact that they have less time. This might lead to even
more truck related accidents and have an extremely negative
effect.
Regulations are a good way to protect the public, but
sometimes it is difficult to come up with a law that will only have
a positive effect. The trucking industry is extremely
large and it is crucial to the economy. Truck drivers should be
allowed to do their job without any pressure. The FMCSA should not
only think about profits, but about the truck drivers. It looks
like this issue will continue to be debated in the future and that
there is no one right answer. Trucking companies believe that they
hire drivers that are capable of making decisions of when to
stop for a break.
