The third in a series of PrePass whitepapers about how motor carriers can improve their safety records addresses the important role played by hours of service (HOS) regulations.
“BASICs –Improving Hours of Service Compliance” explains how the seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) work in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program. In particular, FMCSA regards the HOS Compliance BASIC as the most important of the seven BASICs and assigns HOS violations double the weight during a compliance review.
Motor carriers will learn how to improve their Inspection Selection System (ISS) scores, including why HOS compliance amounts to more than just following rules and keeping log books up to date. Readers will discover that HOS improvement begins with honest management assessment of the commitments it makes to shippers, combined with careful route planning and open communication among all team members.
Trucking fleets can use this whitepaper not only to provide a framework where carrier operations can be conducted legally, but also to help drivers correctly utilize electronic logging devices (ELDs). Some truckers don’t understand that paper logs are not entirely a thing of the past.
Along the way, the hours of service whitepaper reveals steps carriers can take to avoid common mistakes, such as verifying that every truck carries an “ELD information packet;” reviewing ELD records for unidentified driving hours; and clarifying whether drivers may park and take rest breaks on customer property. Carriers who use this whitepaper will be lightyears (entered in proper ELD mode, of course) ahead of their competition in HOS compliance.
You can download the other whitepapers in this series by going to the PrePass Resource Library.
