NW Relocation

DOT officers of each state are generally in charge of the enforcement of the Hours of Service (HOS). These are sometimes checked when CMVs pass through weigh stations. Drivers found to be in violation of the HOS canbe forcedto stop driving for a certain period of time. This, in turn, maynegativelyaffect the motor carrier's safety rating. Requests to change the HOS are a source of debate. Unfortunately, many surveysindicatedriversroutinelyget away with violating the HOS.Such facts have started yet another debate on whether motor carriers shouldbe requiredto us EOBRs in their vehicles.Relying on paper-based log books does not always seem to enforce the HOS law put in place for the safety of everyone.

The main purpose of the HOS regulation is to prevent accidents due to driver fatigue. To do this, the number of driving hours per day, as well as the number of driving hours per week, havebeen limited.Another measure to prevent fatigue is to keep drivers on a 21 to 24-hour schedulein order tomaintain a natural sleep/wake cycle. Drivers must take a dailyminimumperiod of rest andare allowedlonger "weekend" rest periods. This is in hopes to combat cumulative fatigue effects thataccrueon a weekly basis.

The Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974 established a federalmaximum gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg).It also introduced a sliding scale of truck weight-to-length ratios based on the bridge formula. Although, they did not establish a federalminimumweight limit.By failing to establish a federal regulation, six contiguous in the Mississippi Valley rebelled.Becoming known as the "barrier state", they refused to increase their Interstate weight limits to 80,000 pounds.Due to this, the trucking industry faced a barrier to efficient cross-country interstate commerce.

Words have always had a different meaning or havebeen usedinterchangeablywith others across all cultures.In the United States, Canada, and the Philippines the word "truck" ismostlyreserved for larger vehicles.Although in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the word "truck" is generally reserved for large vehicles. In Australia and New Zealand, a pickup truck is usually called a ute, short for "utility". While over in South Africa it is called a bakkie (Afrikaans: "small open container").The United Kingdom, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, and Hong Kong use the "lorry" instead of truck, but only for medium and heavy types.