Lawmakers always try to make things safer for the trucking industry and everyone involved, especially drivers and those who share the road with them. But there is always a fine line to these regulations, because even though they are supposed to make the roads safer, there are still many factors to consider. The new rules can be reasonable and work great, but they also can be too intrusive. One of these regulations is about driver’s sleep. Without a doubt, it is set for a good reason, but it still has been met with a lot of criticism from trucking companies and drivers themselves.
Fatigue behind the wheel has always been a problem and caused a lot of accidents. Many drivers prefer to put off the rest to work more and be able to do the job in time. A driver sleeping behind the wheel can lead to tragic results for him and other motorists, and that is why safety measures to regulate drivers’ sleep are in place. These rules have been changed several times because of the feedback on how effective they actually are, but they still draw criticism.
The new measures that are supposed to help preventing sleep apnea in drivers have been proposed and met with mixed reactions. Such measures would require more monitoring to check if drivers’ rest and sleep periods comply with new regulations. Trucking companies already have a lot of regulations to deal with, such as the amount of hours drivers can be on duty and the rest periods. Adding new rules can not only be intrusive but also become a burden.
Today shipping coordinators have to take into account traffic, weather conditions, customers and drivers schedules – additional monitoring would make the process even more complicated. The new regulations can also have a negative effect on the job growth in the industry. The data from e-Logs and medical screenings are being processed and the results on the regulations will show how effective they are and what needs to be changed.
