Legislature(2023 - 2024)BUTROVICH 205
03/07/2024 01:30 PM Senate TRANSPORTATION
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: the Hours of Service and Electronic Log Review | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE TRANSPORTATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 7, 2024
1:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator James Kaufman, Chair
Senator David Wilson, Vice Chair
Senator Löki Tobin
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Robert Myers
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: THE HOURS OF SERVICE AND ELECTRONIC LOG REVIEW
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
THERESA WOLDSTAD, Staff
Senator Robert Myers
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on the presentation: The
Hours of Service and Electronic Log Review.
DERRICK GRIMES, Crash Data Manager
Highway Safety Division
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on the presentation The
Hours of Service and Electronic Log Review.
JUSTIN BURGESS,
Odyssey Logistics
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified by invitation on the presentation
The Hours of Service and Electronic Log Review.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:32:51 PM
CHAIR JAMES KAUFMAN called the Senate Transportation Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:32 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Myers, Tobin, Wilson, Kiehl, and Chair
Kaufman.
^PRESENTATION: THE HOURS OF SERVICE and ELECTRONIC LOG REVIEW
PRESENTATION: THE HOURS OF SERVICE and ELECTRONIC LOG REVIEW
1:33:31 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN announced consideration of a presentation, The
Hours of Service and Electronic Log Review by Senator Robert
Myers and invited presenters.
1:34:30 PM
SENATOR ROBERT MYERS, Senator, District Q, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, began the presentation, The Hours
of Service and Electronic Log Review. He reminded the committee
that his primary occupation involves driving trucks and that the
topic he brings to the committee today has been building over
the past few years. He said the difficulty with this concern is
that it primarily pertains to federal law and there is very
little that can be done at the state level. However, due to the
significant impact of this issue on the state, his objective is
to put it on the record and inform the committee and the
legislature.
SENATOR MYERS moved to slide 1. He said he would be joined by
representatives of the transportation industry to share how
Electronic Logging Device (ELD) implementation has affected them
and their business. He said he would cover the mandate
implemented by the federal government at the end of 2017, and
the subsequent safety impacts across the state of Alaska.
1:35:42 PM
SENATOR MYERS moved to slide 2 and said Hours of Service (HOS)
limits have been in effect since the 1930's with the goal of
reducing driver fatigue and hence accidents. He paraphrased the
following points:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Hours of Service (HOS)
• FMCSA governs the working hours of anyone operating a
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in the United States.
• Hours of Service (HOS) represent the daily maximum
limits that a commercial driver may operate a CMV.
o HOS rules also includes the number and length of
rest periods between operation hours, to help
ensure that drivers stay awake and alert.
• HOS applies to any operator of a commercial vehicle
that is used as part of a business and is involved in
interstate commerce.
1:36:08 PM
SENATOR MYERS moved to slide 3 and said the table is an example
of the HOS rules drivers deal with on a regular basis. Alaska
has some exemptions that were written into federal law in the
1980's. The justification for the exemptions is that Alaska has
longer distances between populated areas and fewer safe rest
stops. The exemptions allow for traveling those longer
distances, finding rest stops and food along the way:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Hours of Service (HOS)
(alternate formatting)
Property Carrying Drivers
Standard US Alaska
11-Hour Driving Limit 15-Hour Driving Limit
May drive maximum of 11 May drive maximum of 15
hours after 10 consecutive hours after 10 consecutive
hours off hours off
14-Hour Limit 20-Hour Limit
May not drive 14 May not drive 20
consecutive hours after 10 consecutive hours after 10
consecutive hours off consecutive hours off
60-Hour Limit per 7 days 70-Hour Limit per 7 days
60-hour limit for 7 70-hour limit for 7
consecutive days, if not consecutive days, if not
operating every day in operating every day in
week week
70-Hour Limit per 8 days 80-Hour Limit per 8 days
70-hour limit for 8 80-hour limit for 8
consecutive days, if consecutive days, if
operating every day in operating every day in
week week
1:36:59 PM
SENATOR KIEHL asked for an explanation of how the second rule on
the table works in relation to the first rule.
1:37:23 PM
SENATOR MYERS explained that the 14-hour limit in the US and the
20-hour limit in Alaska are the total number of hours a driver
may work, not the total they may drive. Once a driver hits a
driving limit, they must take a full rest period before they are
eligible to drive again. Drivers may still work, but they may
not continue to drive.
1:37:57 PM
SENATOR TOBIN asked how the HOS limits work in rural or remote
areas where the roads are not long, but the driver goes back and
forth on the same roads.
1:38:17 PM
SENATOR MYERS explained that there is a short haul exemption
which applies to rural areas. There are requirements for the
exemption to apply:
1. The driver can't drive more than 100 air miles from the
original destination.
2. The driver must start and end workday at the same spot.
3. The driver can't work more than 12 hours in that day.
4. The driver must have a record of clocking in and out, which
looks more like standard job/work shift.
SENATOR MYERS explained that this presentation on Electronic
Logging Devices (ELD) and Hours of Service (HOS) deals primarily
with longer distance trucking. The majority of driving in cities
is under the short-haul exemption for which HOS rules and ELD's
don't apply.
1:39:35 PM
SENATOR MYERS moved to slide 4 and said that, beginning in
December 2017, the federal government mandated the use of ELD's
in most trucks to record the hours of service. He said ELD's
have been around for several years, but many companies did not
adopt them before the mandate:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Electronic Logging Devices (ELD)
• Electronic Logging Devices (ELD)
• Devices that synchronize with a CMV engine to
automatically record driving data.
• Drivers can use ELDs to certify their records and
transfer data
• Data file is sent to safety officials who review
data and flag potential violations
• ELD Rule / Mandate
• FMCSA mandated the use of ELDs by 2018
• Purpose is to reduce overall paperwork burden,
• improve compliance with the applicable HOS rules
and improve CMV safety.
1:40:21 PM
SENATOR MYERS moved to slide 5, ELD Rule Implementation
Timeline, and said the timeline shows the development and
implementation of the ELD rule and mandate along with a table
depicting Alaska Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes by Year and
Severity for the years 2014 through 2022.
SENATOR MYERS pointed out that the implementation of the ELD
mandate in Alaska corresponds to a huge increase in crashes that
involve Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) starting in 2018.
Crashes went down significantly during the COVID pandemic due to
less traffic on the road. He said there is not yet data from
2023 but he expects to see a significant uptick in crashes that
year due to much higher activity on the slope as well as many
newer drivers coming from out of state.
1:41:02 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN commented that there is a tremendous difference
between the 2017 and 2018 data. He asked if this presentation
would discuss the cause and effect of that difference.
1:41:20 PM
SENATOR MYERS replied that he would discuss it briefly and that
the industry representatives present will share more about how
it has affected them. He pointed out that the issue is there is
a huge increase in crashes, and it appears to correspond with
the ELD mandate taking effect.
1:41:37 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN asked if other jurisdictions have experienced
similar results or if there is a national trend along the same
lines.
1:41:51 PM
SENATOR MYERS replied that the national numbers are not as
clear. He said while Alaska experienced a drop and then a
flatline between 2012 and 2015, the national numbers showed an
increase in crashes during that time. Similar to Alaska, he said
there was a drop in the number of crashes in 2020 and 2021
related to reduced overall traffic during COVID. The numbers at
a national level are not as clear, but on a national level, it
appears that ELD's did not improve safety.
1:42:46 PM
SENATOR KIEHL asked for an explanation of the null value in the
top line of the table on slide 5.
1:43:08 PM
SENATOR MYERS deferred to his staff.
1:43:21 PM
THERESA WOLDSTAD, Staff, Senator Robert Myers, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, deferred the question regarding the
crash data set to Mr. Grimes.
1:43:55 PM
DERRICK GRIMES, Crash Data Manager, Highway Safety Division,
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF),
Juneau, Alaska, explained that he oversees the transition of
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF)'s
crash data reports into the repository the State of Alaska uses
to determine a lot of projects. He said null value in this case
should be interpreted as "no injury". He explained that this
table is the result of blending two sets of data resulting from
two different versions of the crash form. The earlier version of
the crash form included the ability to enter a null value. This
is an example of vestigial data and in the column for 2022,
there are no "null" entries. He said DOTPF have recently begun
to tidy up data problems like this at a systemic level.
1:44:55 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN asked whether the method of data capture is
consistent enough to determine whether what looks like a trend
really is a trend. He asked if there has been any adjustment in
how data is assessed or captured that may have created an
artifact or the appearance of an increase.
1:45:21 PM
MR. GRIMES answered that was not the case for 2018 with the
large increase in Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) incidents. In
2013 there was a massive overhaul of the crash data form, so
data prior to 2013 would have been reported on the old data form
and 2013 forward would have been on the new data form. The
method of data collection has not changed. He said the data
comes from law enforcement via Division of Motor Vehicles. The
type of data and the amount of data collected has changed
significantly between 2013 and post-2013.
1:46:07 PM
SENATOR MYERS moved to slide 6, displaying a line graph Alaska
Total CMV Involved Crashes by Year and Severity. He noted the
increase in crashes from 2010 through 2014 and said it could be
due to more traffic on the road because it was busier on the
north slope. The oil price crash in 2014 and 2015 led to less
traffic and the crash numbers "bottoming out." He noted that in
2018, the number of crashes increased by more than 100 percent.
The increase was surprising because there was not a significant
increase in traffic that year.
SENATOR MYERS suggested that the use of ELDs has increased
compliance to HOS rules and demonstrated that the HOS rules
don't work for Alaska. He said the HOS rules don't take
[variability in] driver behavior into account and they sometimes
encourage drivers to drive when it's unsafe to do so.
1:47:54 PM
SENATOR WILSON asked the DOTPF representative whether data shows
a trend continuing downward or if it's going back up after the
COVID years. He asked if there is any preliminary data that
could be shared.
1:48:29 PM
MR. GRIMES answered there is additional data indicating a
general downward trend in crash reporting, but without doing a
deeper data analysis, it's tough to say what the trend is. He
reported that there is discussion at the national level that
driver behavior coming out of COVID is worse and there is an
expectation that there will be a higher number of crashes. He
said Alaska is always different.
1:49:25 PM
SENATOR WILSON asked specifically about the comparison between
2023 data and 2022 data.
1:49:38 PM
MR. GRIMES said he could not put a number on 2023 crashes right
now. He said there is an issue with the 2023 data set on
delivery. He said he expects the 2023 number would fall in line
with the current declining trend and he guessed it would be 300.
It will largely depend on the details at the end of the year.
1:50:06 PM
SENATOR KIEHL asked if there is sufficient detail in the data to
adjust the chart by Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) miles driven.
1:50:22 PM
MR. GRIMES said it would require a concerted effort between
different data sets and departments to produce a chart that
would compare crash data and CMV miles driven. The data sets
required would include:
• traffic data,
• sections data to provide vehicle miles traveled per segment
of road,
• GIS analysis to map crashes,
• GIS environment analysis to determine which roads would be
affected in crash ratings.
1:51:02 PM
SENATOR MYERS commented that there are some national sets of
data on miles driven per year, but he is not aware of any
specific to Alaska.
1:51:52 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN announced invited testimony on the hours of
service and electronic logging devices for commercial drivers.
1:52:06 PM
JUSTIN BURGESS, Odyssey Logistics, Fairbanks, Alaska, gave
invited testimony during the presentation on The Hours of
Service and Electronic Log Review. Mr. Burgess expressed concern
about HOS rules affecting sleeper splits for drivers. He said
that, as a driver travels on the road, they can only split their
sleeping hours between 8 and 2 or 10 hours off-duty. He noted
that there is a more aged truck driver population in Alaska.
Drivers who stop to take a one-hour nap in a safe haven are
penalized for taking that hour off and lose an hour in their
daily logs. He said the main issue with HOS is the way sleeper
berth must be split up.
1:53:28 PM
At ease
1:54:48 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN reconvened the meeting and asked Senator Myers to
discuss the impact of ELDs with respect to the sleeping/resting
schedule.
1:55:12 PM
SENATOR MYERS explained that, as a commercial driver, he has
four things that he counts in his paper log or electronic log as
work time: driving, on duty not driving, off duty, and sleeper
berth. He related examples comparing paper logs and ELD's to
hours when driving. He said there are different advantages to
each. He acknowledged that, when using paper logs, people would
fudge their entries. He said a driver can't do that with
electronic logging devices (ELDs). ELD's require strict
compliance and he opined that a driver is to some extent
encouraged to continue driving when tired. He suggested that one
solution is to ask the federal government to change the sleeper
berth rules so that a driver would not be required to take a
full ten hours to sleep or a strict eight hour/two hour split
but could split their sleep time however they wanted to. He
offered examples and said the Hours of Service (HOS) rules
combined with Electronic Logging Devices lead to insufficient
rest and, on the back end, inefficient use of time while waiting
for a ten-hour rest period to end.
He concluded that because a driver is held to strict compliance
with HOS rules when using ELDs, they are encouraged to continue
driving into heavy traffic or bad weather when they should
perhaps pull over and rest or wait an hour.
1:57:58 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN said that it's one thing to point out a problem
and another to try to solve it. He referred to slide 3 which
compared the standard US HOS rules to Alaska HOS rules and asked
how the exemptions were created.
1:58:32 PM
SENATOR MYERS said those exemptions are part of the federal
statute and that it was thanks to Senator Ted Stevens that they
had been written into the law.
1:58:46 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN asked whether Senator Myers intended to ask for a
resolution asking the Alaska delegation [to US Congress] to
change something.
1:59:04 PM
SENATOR MYERS replied that is an avenue he is looking into. He
said he is bringing it before this committee first to help
spread awareness. He agreed any change would be at the federal
level. He said his research suggested the sleeper berth change
could be made through regulation. The Hours of Service (HOS)
rules are federal statute. He reiterated that one solution may
be a more flexible approach to sleep splits rather than changes
to the HOS rules.
2:00:02 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN expressed curiosity about the 2018 spike [in the
number of crashes]. He noted that after the spike in 2018, the
[number of crashes] trends down. He questioned whether there is
a durable trend in a negative direction and proposed keeping an
eye on [the data].
2:00:46 PM
SENATOR MYERS explained that COVID complicated the data. He
acknowledged the data shared by DOTPF indicates a decrease in
overall crashes, statewide. However, he said he suspects the
number of crashes for commercial vehicles is increasing, though
he lacks data.
2:02:02 PM
CHAIR KAUFMAN pointed out there have been changes to Commercial
Driver's License (CDL) training requirements at the federal
level.
2:02:12 PM
SENATOR MYERS said entry level requirements changed around 2019.
He expressed doubt that CDL changes had made much difference [in
driver behavior] yet, since formerly certified drivers were
"grandfathered in."
2:02:46 PM
SENATOR TOBIN asked whether other states are seeking similar
changes to the HOS and ELD rules.
2:03:08 PM
SENATOR MYERS said he hasn't heard from other states yet. Data
he has seen so far from other states was not as stark as
Alaska's data. He said there was already an increase in crashes
before the ELD's went into effect which makes it harder to talk
about cause and effect. He reported that the Federal Motor
Carrier Association did make a slight change to the sleeper
split law. The change went into effect at the end of 2020 and
allowed a seven/three hour split for rest hours in addition to
the eight/two split. He would like to see more flexibility,
allowing for a driver to take the small chunk [of rest] first
and the large chunk later. He acknowledged that different
schedules work better for different drivers. He would pursue an
exemption for Alaska first and endorse a closer look [by federal
authorities] at the data for the rest of the country as well.
2:05:00 PM
SENATOR KIEHL asked if there is information on the relationship
between driver experience and the spike and decline in the
number of crashes.
2:05:36 PM
SENATOR MYERS said he can offer anecdotal answers, but he is not
aware of available data that would indicate [a link between CMV
driver experience and the number of crashes]. He pointed out
that through this time, baby boomers were retiring, including
truck drivers, and with the oil price crash in 2014/2015 a lot
of drivers left Alaska and there were not many new divers coming
in. He said in 2022 and 2023 there are a lot more opportunities
for drivers.
2:07:09 PM
SENATOR KIEHL noted that drivers adjusted their behavior to stay
as close to compliance as they were able when they used paper
logs. He asked if there have been similar behavior adaptations
to driving conditions while using ELDs.
2:07:37 PM
SENATOR MYERS said if there was a problem with a paper log, a
driver could rip out a page and start over. He described
situations that would require adjustments to ELD records and
that it is usually a closely monitored, multi-step process to
make changes.
2:09:45 PM
SENATOR MYERS concluded that it is possible to alter ELD
records, but alterations will not be made at the same frequency
or for the same reasons as in the past.
2:10:10 PM
SENATOR MYERS recognized that Hours of Service and Electronic
Logging Device rules review is a niche topic, however, he said
that an increase from around 300 crashes to more than 700
crashes in one year is something worth investigating.
2:11:28 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Kaufman adjourned the Senate Transportation Standing
Committee meeting at 2:11 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HOS and ELDs Presentation by Sen Myers.pdf |
STRA 3/7/2024 1:30:00 PM |