Barbara Boxer: “the Fiscal Year 2001 Transportation Appropriations bill now before the Senate contains, in my opinion, a very damaging…”

“the Fiscal Year 2001 Transportation Appropriations bill now before the Senate contains, in my opinion, a very damaging and potentially dangerous provision. This provision would effectively bar the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from acting on comments from the public and other interested parties on the critical need to revise the so-called Hours of Service rules, which regulate, among other things, the number of continuous hours commercial drivers are permitted to be on the road. Over 5,300 people are killed and 127,000 are injured each year as a result of truck-related crashes, and research shows that truck driver fatigue is a contributing factor in 30 to 40 percent of all truck-related fatalities. Moreover, the Department of Transportation (DOT) finds that fatigue is directly related to 15 percent of all fatalities involving heavy trucks. There are both good and not-so-good parts to DOT's proposed changes to the Hours of Service rule. While I am very concerned that the proposed rule contemplates increasing the number of continuous driving hours from 10 to 12, it would also require the use of electronic on-board recorders for long haul and regional truckers, and it would require commercial drivers to follow the 24-hour circadian rhythm cycle as opposed to the currently permitted 18-hour cycle. This is important because all authoritative studies show that the human body best resets its ``clock'' when following the circadian rhythm cycle.”