Much has been made through the years about the constraints of a one-size-fits-all approach to the hours of service regulations. While there are in fact many variations in rules depending on the nature of the trucking operation (oil-field, ag, short-haul ...), the reality that there is no recognition of proven safety in the rules for longer-run interstate property carriers has been a topic of discussion for decades. Some veteran owners have in past argued for additional hours flexibility for such proven, safe operators, and back in June, one owner put forward an exemption request that in some ways tracks closely to that idea.
Leland (Lee) Schmitt and his wife and business partner, Lisa, petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from most of the hours of service regulations based on Lee’s safe driving record and experience.
Schmitt asked FMCSA for exemption from the requirement to take a 10-hour break, from the 14-hour daily duty maximum and from the cumulative 60 in 7 days and/or 70 in 8 days duty limitations. He did not, however, ask for exemption from the 11-hour maximum daily drive time limit.
In his request, he said the mandatory 10-hour off-duty break “goes against his natural sleep patterns, as his normal nighttime sleep while in the CMV is between five to seven hours.”
The docket was open to public comments for 30 days and received more than 650 comments -- some in support of the operator’s request and some against.
Owner-operator Lindsay Scott-Funk summed up the feeling of many in favor of such an exemption, saying “this should really be a common-sense exemption for anyone that wants one. To try and force all drivers to work at the same time is just asking for trouble.”
Scott-Funk added that drivers “should have the ability to tailor their workday to the way they want to work.”
