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HOURS OF SERVICE / FATIGUE

National Drowsy Driving Summit - Daphne Izer's Statement

National Drowsy Driving Summit
Washington, DC
November 20 & 21, 2002

Visit www.sleepfoundation.org for more information

Comments by Daphne Izer
Co-Chair and Founder
Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.)
1-888-353-4572
PATT@patt.org
www.patt.org

My name is Daphne Izer and I am the mother of Jeff Izer, killed by a long-haul truck driver asleep at the wheel of his 80,000-pound machine, which instantly became a lethal weapon when he nodded off. Jeff’s young life ended needlessly along with his three young friends, Angie, Dawn Marie & Katie. Linda was the only survivor that night nine years ago. We have lived through every parent’s nightmare … having to bury our own child.

Thousands of other innocent people (sons, daughters, moms, dads and on and on …) have had their lives cut short and countless families’ lives have been drastically changed forever all because some driver did not get enough quality sleep. We recall the state trooper in our case explaining to us during the investigation that there were no drugs or alcohol involved with this truck driver. And the District Attorney reporting to the media stating, “There but for the Grace of God go I”, after she failed to indict the driver on criminal charges.

We were horrified to learn that he lied on his daily log. Our children are dead and he lied! He was later charged for a false logbook, which we would soon find out is common industry practice and for that he was sentenced to four months in prison and a $1000 fine. Usually the fine is more like $100-$250 (a mere cost of doing business) and is mailed in. Little did we realize at the time that the lack of sleep could result in such a horrendous tragedy! We would later learn that a drunk driver has slowed responses, but a driver asleep at the wheel has no responses.

Out of grief, anger and hope for the future and not wanting other parents to go through what we are and always will be going through, we formed Parents Against Tired Truckers seven months after the crash in May of 1993, not at all realizing of course what a can of worms we were opening up. We began to hear from drivers across the country telling us about the intolerable conditions under which they had to work. We knew then if we were to make a difference and save lives we had to work on the issues causing the loss of so many precious lives, a staggering 5000 plus deaths each and every year in heavy truck-related crashes.

No load of freight is worth a human life. No driver should have to work 100 plus hours a week to bring home a paycheck. Not all companies operate in this manner, but far too many do. If a company cannot operate legally, it does not deserve to be in business.

Motor carriers were deregulated in 1980 at which time the trucking industry became a cutthroat business. Deregulation may have been a boom to business and consumers by resulting in lower freight rates, but it did not alleviate the problem of fatigue for truck drivers. It added to pressures that lead to fatigue, resulting in unsafe highways. Safety rules have not changed significantly in over 60 years. Motor carriers are now working with 21st century equipment.

A fax can run 24 hours a day.

A plane can fly 24 hours a day.

A truck can run 24 hours a day.

But the human body is not designed to run 24 hours a day.

The HOS rule making began in 1996 and here it is numerous studies, millions of our tax dollars and six years later and still no new HOS. We need HOS rules that promote safety, take into consideration circadian rhythms and provide sufficient time for drivers to obtain quality sleep and we do need new HOS rules in this lifetime! There needs to be strong enforcement of the HOS rules.

On-Board Recorders must replace the manual logbook, commonly referred to by government, law enforcement and industry alike as the “comic book.” These recorders will not be an invasion of privacy because they will only require the same information as is required now on the paper logbook. They are long overdue.

The availability of sufficient safe rest areas is needed. The parking limit imposed by many states must be eliminated.

Drowsy Driving must become a household word. Fatigue education is a must for everyone involved in the trucking industry and Carrier, Shipper, Broker, Freight Forwarder, Receiver accountability and liability for their involvement in unrealistic schedules that lead to violations of the Hours-of Service regulations.

Last, but in no way is it the least, as this issue is the root cause of fatigue in the trucking industry and that is the compensation system. Pay by the mile & load must be eliminated and changed to pay for all hours worked. The industry’s own study showed that drivers wait an average of 33-40 hours a week at docks, loading, unloading, waiting to load & unload.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a whole workweek for nearly every American. They cannot sleep during this time, but it is documented in the logbooks this way, otherwise there would be very little hours left to earn money. So, all too often they start off from the docks in a fatigued state. Drivers should receive some sort of protection under the Fair Labor Standards Act and get paid for all time worked. Sufficient research should be conducted on pay-by-the-mile for its impact on drowsy driving as it pertains to how fast, how far and how long truck driver’s drive.

We appeal to the Federal Motor Carrier Administration to enact new rules, mandate On Board Recorders, support fatigue education & include truck drivers under the protection of the Fair Labor Standards Act & to enact these without further delay. Time is running out. Jeff’s time ran out in 1993 when he was barely 17 years old.