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.
