Hours of Service Regulatory Evaluation Analytical Support Task 1: Baseline Risk Estimates and Carrier Experience. Final Report: Task 6 October 1998-March 1999

摘要

The objective of this project is to provide baseline information to assess the safety and economic impact of the proposed hours of service (HOS) options. The analysis is organized around driver/operation groups developed by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for the hours of service (HOS) options. This report provides preliminary information for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Baseline estimates of the prevalence and risk of fatigue accidents are presented. Estimates of the number of vehicles, vehicle miles of travel and fatigue accidents are developed for populations affected by hours of service regulations. The incidence of fatigue accidents is combined with the population data to estimate the overall risk of fatigue accidents. These risk estimates are the necessary starting point for subsequent estimates of the safety impact of each HOS option. A preliminary assessment of the impact on drivers and motor carriers is also presented, including baseline information on driver wages, hours and working conditions. This infoJrmation shows that drivers do not comply with current regulations. Estimates are presented of the cost of compliance with the current law, as well as social opportunity cost of the proposed policy changes. Qualitative estimates of the industry impact on daily and weekly schedule and daily and weekly maximum hours are presented.