Bush Even Hates The Truckers

U.S. Retains Controversial Trucker Rule

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlates...221415,00.html

Friday August 19, 2005 9:01 PM
By LESLIE MILLER

WASHINGTON (AP) - Truckers can still spend six days on the road during the week and drive for 11 hours at a time, thanks to a rule the Bush administration decided to leave intact even though truckers and safety advocates say it's unsafe.

For 60 years, truckers could drive for 10 consecutive hours. On Jan. 1, 2004, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration changed the rule to allow them another hour behind the wheel.

A federal court, however, threw out the changes.

On Friday, the truck-safety agency announced that a revision to the rule would still allow the big rigs to roll for 11 hours, three hours more than safety advocates say they should.

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety said the Bush administration had simply repackaged an unsafe rule.

Studies show the risk of deadly crashes significantly rises after the 10th and 11th hours of driving, said Joan Claybrook, president of the safety group Public Citizen.

``Trucks are going to continue to be rolling time bombs on the highway,'' Claybrook said. ``So many drivers are tired, and that's what causes so many crashes.''

More than a year ago, a federal court struck down the rule, saying it was ``arbitrary and capricious'' and failed to consider truckers' health. The Bush administration was left to revise it.

Annette Sandberg, chief of the truck-safety agency, said the new rule was designed to reduce the number of crashes caused by fatigued drivers.

``The research shows that this new rule will improve driver health and safety and the safety of our roadways,'' Sandberg said during a press conference.

She said the rule requires drivers to take at least 10 hours off between shifts, two more than before, and reduces the maximum work day from 15 hours to 14.

But Claybrook said that drivers can drive 20 percent longer and spend 30 percent more time on duty under the new rule.

She said the agency's own data show that deaths resulting from large truck crashes are up 3.1 percent from 2003 to 2004.

The American Trucking Associations, which represents trucking companies, said in a press release that the rule improves safety but offered no specifics as to why.

The Bush administration also announced a new set of rules for truck drivers who travel less than 150 miles in a day and don't need a commercial driver's license.

Those drivers, who typically work for retailers and small package-delivery companies, would be partially exempt from the 14-hour workday. For two days a week, they could work 16-hour days, including breaks.

Wal-Mart and other retailers have lobbied Congress to extend the workday for truckers to 16 hours, something labor unions and safety advocates say would make roadways more dangerous for all drivers.

Some members of Congress had a similar proposal, but the legislation was withdrawn in March when safety advocates and unions representing truckers opposed it.

Sandberg said it makes sense to let short-haul drivers work longer because they're 18 times less likely to be involved in a crash caused by fatigue than long-haul drivers.

Sleepy drivers cause only 5.5 percent of all truck crashes, she said.

She said the rule, which will take effect Oct. 1, will cost long-haul trucking companies $10 million and save short-haul companies $280 million.