THIS is what the CRomnibus bill will do to us:

[A HERETIC I AM]

26. OK....most of what you're saying is nonsense.

First of all, forget the amphetamine nonsense, OK? Drug use in the industry which I have been a member for over 25 years is not a problem in the slightest. It brders on urban myth these days.

Here's how that scary "82 hour week" actually would pan out;

Current rules allow me to drive up to 11 hours in a stretch and work a total of 14 hours after which a 10 hour break is mandatory. The current limit is 70 hours total in an 8 day period.

So lets say I work 14 hour days.

I start at 6 Am and work till 8 at night, beginning Monday. By Friday at 8PM I am at my 70 hour limit (5 X 14 = 70). I have to take a 34 hour "reset" (which means my logbook goes back to zero accumulated hours) which MUST include two periods between 1 AM and 5 AM.

So....I finish work at 8PM friday night. 24 hours later it is 8 PM Saturday and ten hours after that it is 6 AM Sunday. That covers the required two 1 to five Am sections and now I am free to work 14 hours on Sunday. THAT'S how it works out....'

BUT.....it doesn't happen in real life, certainly not by but a tiny few drivers nationwide.

I am about to get behind the wheel as I type this, driving from Atlanta back to Detroit, so I don't have time to go further, but the idea you have put forth of scary, sleep deprived ("hasn't slept in two days!" OH NOOOO!) IS BULLSHIT.

Sure, there are idiot drivers out there who overdo it, but they are a tiny minority.

The entire hours of service thing has been debated for years, with the original rules being instituted in the 1930's. Changes had to be made and the industry is still struggling with how to do it properly.