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Mar 31, 2006 2:38 PM

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is seeking motor carrier data to measure the effects of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service (HOS) provision that substantially altered the sleeper berth exception affecting drivers’ ability to split sleeper berth time.

ATRI will collect data quarterly in an effort to track changes in driver safety performance and measure it against the overall safety impacts of the 2004 hours-of-service rules, which included a more flexible sleeper berth provision.

“Many parts of the trucking industry have expressed concern over the potential safety implications of the new sleeper berth rule,” said Dave Osiecki, safety, security, and operations vice-president, American Trucking Associations. “This data collection effort provides a great opportunity for carriers to share their safety experience under this new sleeper berth rule to see how it compares with the previous, more flexible rule. The analysis of this data could form the basis of an argument for change.”

ATRI’s study represents the second stage of data collection as part of its continuing research to measure the safety impacts of the HOS changes. Information required includes collision and driver injury data covering the period January 1 through March 31, 2006.

Data by participating motor carriers should be submitted no later than April 30, 2006.

ATRI will be collecting this same data on a quarterly basis throughout 2006.

Carriers interested in providing data can contact ATRI’s Virginia Dick at 770-432-0628 or at vdick@trucking.org.

ATRI published the findings from its first hours-of-service study, “Safety Impacts of the New Hours of Service,” in February, analyzing the safety effects of the 2004 rules.

The study compared the data with previous HOS rules that had governed driver health, safety and carrier productivity for decades. This research found that the 2004 driver work and rest rules generated significant improvements in driver safety performance, according to ATRI information.