Rules and regulations for over the road trucking companies have long been a topic of concern for many people in the shipping industry. Now the federal trucking rules are being tightened starting in 2013 and people are getting nervous about how this will affect their bottom lines. Besides the standard licensing requirements, inspections and taxes, a major regulation speaks to how long drivers can go between sleeping and how long they will be off the road before starting up again. Once the word got out that new rules were being discussed, many people feared that the new regulations would be changed to limit drivers to only 10 consecutive hours or less on the road. Instead there will be new requirements of 30 minute rest periods after an 8 hour trip before the drivers can get back on the road. They will also only be allowed to have 70 hours of driving per week. This is down from the current 82. These types of rules have been proven to work since the last time changes were put into place, the number of diver accidents resulting from fatigue have greatly declined. Companies who tend to bend the rules on sleep habits are going to be most affected given that the penalties are also changing. The monetary amount will be steep enough to deter many of the drivers. These types of protections will also help people all over the country that have nothing to do with the shipping industry just by saving them from potential trouble on the road. Safety first.
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