From: otterpower@xhotmail.com   
      
   On 6/10/2014 6:22 PM, Larry Sheldon wrote:   
   > On 6/10/2014 11:55 AM, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:   
   >> An actor, Tracy Morgan, was critically injured in a truck crash.  The   
   >> truck driver hadn't had a rest.   
   >>   
   >> The Phila Inqr reports that a New Jersey highway crash that severely   
   >> injured Tracy Morgan and killed another comedian is drawing attention   
   >> to the dangers of tired truckers just as the industry and its allies   
   >> in Congress are poised to roll back safety rules on drivers' work   
   >> schedules.   
   >>   
   >> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20140610_ap_bc94   
   4f8a69f4f3296d7192b08d380a8.html   
   >>   
   >   
   > There are NO safety rules on drivers' work schedules>   
      
   An update:   
      
   Real-World Hours-of-Service Study Shows Drivers Using New Restart Are   
   More Alert, Less Fatigued   
   January 30, 2014   
      
   WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor   
   Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today released findings from a   
   real world, third-party study providing further scientific evidence that   
   the restart provision in the current hours-of-service rule for truck   
   drivers is more effective at combatting fatigue than the prior version.   
      
   "Safety is our top priority, and this new study shows more data-driven   
   evidence that our safety standards help truckers stay well-rested, alert   
   and focused on the road," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony   
   Foxx. "The hours-of-service rule is helping to reduce truck driver   
   fatigue and making every traveler on our highways and roads safer."   
      
   Scientists measured sleep, reaction time, sleepiness and driving   
   performance in the study. They found that drivers who began their work   
   week with just one nighttime period of rest, as compared to the two   
   nights in the updated 34-hour restart break:   
      
        Exhibited more lapses of attention, especially at night;   
        Reported greater sleepiness, especially toward the end of their   
   duty periods; and   
        Showed increased lane deviation in the morning, afternoon and at night.   
      
   "This new study confirms the science we used to make the   
   hours-of-service rule more effective at preventing crashes that involve   
   sleepy or drowsy truck drivers," said Federal Motor Carrier Safety   
   Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "For the small percentage of truckers that   
   average up to 70 hours of work a week, two nights of rest is better for   
   their safety and the safety of everyone on the road."   
      
   The study was conducted by the Washington State University Sleep and   
   Performance Research Center and Philadelphia-based Pulsar Informatics,   
   Inc. It is one of the largest real-world studies ever conducted with   
   commercial motor vehicle drivers, and included 106 participants, 1,260   
   days of data and nearly 415,000 miles of driving that were recorded by   
   the truck-based data acquisition systems.   
      
   Working long hours on a continuing basis is associated with chronic   
   fatigue, a high risk of crashes and a number of serious chronic health   
   conditions in drivers. The updated 34-hour restart, includes two   
   nighttime periods from 1 to 5 a.m., and is intended to provide   
   sufficient time for a driver to recuperate from cumulative fatigue if   
   they work beyond the weekly maximum on-duty limits.   
      
   Analysis shows that the rule will prevent approximately 1,400 crashes   
   and 560 injuries, and save 19 lives each year. Only the most extreme   
   schedules in which drivers are working more than 70 hours in one week   
   will be impacted, and the vast majority of workforce - more than 85   
   percent - will see little to no change in their schedules as a result.   
      
   On July 4, 2012, President Obama signed the Moving Ahead for Progress in   
   the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) into law, which required the agency to   
   conduct a field study on the efficacy of the restart provision of the   
   hours-of-service rule for truck drivers.   
      
   On Dec. 27, 2011, FMCSA published the updated hours-of-service rules for   
   truck drivers that amended the 34-hour restart provision to include at   
   least two nighttime periods from 1 to 5 a.m. instead of one. MAP-21 did   
   not change the July 1, 2013 effective date of the rule.   
      
   To read the full study, visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov.   
   Updated: Wednesday, April 9, 2014   
   --http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/real-world-hours-service-stu   
   y-shows-drivers-using-new-restart-are-more-alert-less-fatigued   
      
      
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