Big Rig Banter – Episode 55 Transcript – Hours of Service | Changes Looming
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Troy: Alright hello and welcome. The date is June 3 and you’re listening to the 55th episode of Big Rig Banter. I’m your co-host Troy Diffenderfer.
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host, Lenay Ruhl
Troy: And hey guys I just wanted to take a minute and give a special shout out to all the professional drivers out there. You’re the ones keeping America moving during this challenging time
Lenay: And Pilot Flying J wants to say thank you as well. To show their gratitude for all you do, they want to give you more rewards and more points. It’s called Push4Points, and it can get you to four points faster while you’re racking up those hard-earned miles. That’s right, you can reach four points per gallon after only six qualifying fills.
Troy: Push4Points is available only in the Pilot Flying J ap for a limited time. It’s as easy as one two three, and here’s how it works. Step one: push the activate button in the app at the beginning of each month. Step two: fill your tank with at least 75 gallons of diesel. Step three: sit back and watch your point balance grow faster than ever before. You’ll increase your earning level after each commercial diesel fill over 75 gallons, from one, to one and a half, to two, to two and a half, and so on. You’ll be earning four points per gallon for the rest of the month after six qualifying fills.
Lenay: And what can you do with all those points? Well, your rig’s not the only thing that needs a fill up, right? When you get hungry or you need a tasty beverage, you can redeem points for in store savings on the essentials as well as merchandise for you and your rig. And when you pull into park for a while, you can redeem points for a reserved parking spot and WIFI credits at participating Pilot and Flying J locations.
Troy: And again, from Pilot Flying J, thank you for all you do, drivers, and stay safe on the road! See terms and conditions at www.pilotflyingj.com/ap
Lenay: Well Troy, we have finally arrived to the end of our stay at home order, June 5, this Friday we are officially allowed to go places. And of course, neither one of us have broken the rules at all, right? (Laughing)
Troy: I know. Of course not. I’ve been inside, you know, enjoying… I can’t tell you how many Netflix shows I’ve chewed through, how many movies I’ve watched, how many books I’ve read, which I’m really proud of. I’ve been doing a lot more reading, and you know… I think this quarantine definitely made me appreciate my new house more, which I was just thinking about the other day. I mean, we just bought the house in December, so like I didn’t have anything better to do than work on it or go outside and work on the back yard or I’ve been doing a lot of grilling and smoking, which you know I’m always talking about.
Lenay: Smoking what Troy?
Troy: Smoking some ribs, which I was super, super proud of.
Lenay: Ok (laughing)
Troy: Smoking food Lenay. Of course.
Lenay: Ok, of course
Troy: Yeah, I thought it was really cool, and Lydia and I get to enjoy the house more. It’s just us two here so, it was really, really cool. That’s one benefit that came out of this whole quarantine, but I’m definitely excited to – maybe not go to a restaurant right away or anything that crazy, but you know, just go out and maybe hang out with a couple people and see them and be outside and still social distance but, just seeing you, is gonna be awesome!
Lenay: I know. I can’t wait. I am definitely ready to put this behind me. I already have two trips planned back to back the next two weekends.
Troy: Oh boy
Lenay: I know, I know, but both of them are going to be pretty easy to socially distance except obviously from the people that I’m traveling with. This coming weekend I’m actually going to the beach with Will, who you know, used to work with us, and then… next weekend I’m going to the Finger Lakes. But yeah so, should be good. Most of the restaurants and those places are offering carry out and then both places I’m going are really close – like the Finger Lakes is right on the water and so is the beach so – lots of things to do outside. Pretty pumped.
Troy: Yeah that’s going to be a lot of fun and like you said, you’ll be able to hang outside and that’ll be definitely a nice change of scenery for sure, going to the beach and going to the Finger Lakes so… have fun on your trip, for sure!
Lenay: Yes, I will. So, I hope you’ve been studying up because I finally think I may have found some trivia questions that are going to stump you this week.
Troy: Uh oh, ok. Is there a theme to these trivia questions this week?
Lenay: Oh, there is. It is geography! (laughing)
Troy: Oh my God, that’s not even fair.
Lenay: Because I’ve got traveling on the brain (laughing)
Troy: And I was just telling Lenay that – I’ll admit it – geography was actually the only course I failed in college, and it was bad. Like we would have a test every week and they would give you a continent to name, and like, I barely passed for just the US and naming states but when it got to like, naming every country in Africa and Europe, that was a nightmare.
Lenay: Yeah well mine aren’t that tricky because I’m just sticking to the US, so I’ll stick to just like maybe three question, just for the sake of time. So, number 1: what is the longest river in the United States?
Troy: Oh geez… Uh…. I mean does the Rio Grande go through. That’s the one like, at the bottom of Texas, right? See, you did hit the freakin’ subject that I do not know.
Lenay: I know
Troy: I’m going to guess the Rio Grande.
Lenay: It is the Missouri River.
Troy: Aww, ok, 0 for 1.
Lenay: Ok. Here I’ll give you, maybe an easier one. What is the smallest US state?
Troy: That would be Rhode Island
Lenay: Correct!
Troy: Yay, ok.
Lenay: Alright, now. What is the number of US states that rim the Atlantic Ocean? So, you might need to take a few seconds to count on this one.
Troy: Oh geez, ok.
Lenay: And no looking at a map Troy, since I can’t see you right now.
Troy: I know. I had to figure out which side the Atlantic was on first, so now I’m in the right area.
Lenay: (Laughing)
Troy: Ok so, I’m going to guess, 12?
Lenay: Very close, 14.
Troy: Alright, I’m hanging up. This was a nice episode.
Lenay: (Laughing) Can we name them? Start at the top or we can start at the bottom.
Troy: I’m going to start at the bottom. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, umm… Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania…
Lenay: No
Troy: Oh, Pennsylvania doesn’t (Laughing) And I’m in Pennsylvania
Lenay: (Laughing)
Troy: Um… New Jersey, I said Rhode Island… Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire…? I don’t know. I give up. That’s as many as I can remember.
Lenay: Um… so you missed Virginia after North Carolina and then New York, also.
Troy: Ok, so I named 12. That’s what I thought but definitely not my strong suit.
Lenay: (Laughing)
Troy: But let’s put this all behind us and get to the episode topic. I’d prefer to move forward from that.
Lenay: (Laughing) fine
Troy: But today we are talking about the new hours of service changes that are on the horizon. It just recently was released that we’re going to see some hours of service changes happening, probably around September, and they definitely have a lot of truckers talking about it.
Lenay: Ah yes, the hours of service. Everyone’s favorite subject. (Laughing)
Troy: Yeah, but so these changes are going to be in effect, like we said, and we actually spoke to a truck driver and someone who works in the industry to kind of break down what these changes are going to look like, and how they may or may not benefit truck drivers so we spoke with Nate Singleton, and he had a lot to say about the matter, so let’s give that a listen.
Troy: Alright I’m here with Nate Singleton. He’s working as operations for Rogers Trucking. Nate, how are you doing?
Nate: I’m doing good. I hope you are.
Troy: I’m doing pretty good. So, you know, we wanted to talk about some of these new and possible hours of service changes, because it seems like they’re trying to make these changes to kind of bob and weave with the coronavirus and the different landscape and we just wanted to speak with someone and kind of break down what these possible changes could be and maybe take a temperature on how truck drivers really are seeing these changes.
Nate: Yeah, sure, let’s get into it.
Troy: Yeah, so how do you think truckers currently feel about these HOS regulations? I know they were recently changed, not too long ago, and I’m sure any kind of regulation change, you’re going to have some people that agree with it and some people that are totally against it.
Nate: Yeah I think a lot of the current regulations that are in place right now, I think that most drivers have an issue with how firm they are and I think that they would like to see some changes, so it’s good to see that there’s been something laid out, and to my knowledge, what’s been proposed goes into effect somewhere around mid-September. I think most of what I’m hearing is the drivers are glad to see some change, but I think that there’s always going to be room for improvement no matter what kind of changes we see. You know, we’re in a different environment right now with the virus and some companies are able to take advantage of the exemptions that the virus brings too.
Troy: Yeah, I’m glad you brought up how firm those regulations currently are. I think that’s one thing I definitely noticed with these changes is they’re trying to make things a little more flexible and help drivers out. Specifically, so the first change dealt with that 30-minute break rule. Can you maybe explain the difference… and this is probably mostly for me, but can you explain the difference between off-duty and non-driving and is this new break rule seen as a good or bad thing, do you think?
Nate: Eh… I don’t think it’s going to… I don’t think that one’s going to have a ton of impact. I mean, I think the way we’re understanding it, and again, it could be different than what we’re understanding, we’re still picking through it to make sure that we understand what the changes mean, but to me, it seems as if now that a driver could use that 30 minute break maybe while he’s fueling whereas technically in the past you weren’t supposed to be doing anything on that 30 minute break other than resting and so they may be able to make up some time by doing that, knocking out fueling and a break in the same time.
Troy: And for me, I’d say, as someone who’s not necessarily on the road and driving, the most confusing one to me was these new off duty split changes. When it’s going from 8 – 2, to 7 – 3. Can you kind of break that down a little bit, and one part is that these splits won’t count towards the 14-hour clock, and how important is that?
Nate: Well I think any time we get any time at all that doesn’t count against that 14 hour clock, I think it’s a benefit, and I think there’s a lot of focus put on splits and breaks and pre trips and those type of things where really the focus needs to be on that 14 hour clock. And when can we stop the 14-hour clock or pause it, so to speak, so that every crash or traffic hold up, weather, or being held up at a shipper or receiver, isn’t necessarily all counting against us. And that’s what we run into a lot. I don’t mean to dance around the question but at the end of the day the 14-hour clock is really what needs to be focused on.
Troy: And another change that we’re seeing is changes regarding the adverse conditions, and do you think this will prevent more drivers from driving in risky weather conditions? You know, if these are implemented in September, they’re not necessarily going to be driving in blizzards or anything but I’m sure, especially out in the Midwest there’s going to be some tornados and other risky weather situations.
Nate: I do think it can take some of the pressure off if a driver knows he’s got some time that he can kind of peel off and put back and maybe take it easy while you know, one of those storms out in the Midwest blow over and the get back to business. I certainly think that that could be a benefit.
Troy: And then the last change I thought was really, really interesting, and I think we’re seeing how the coronavirus and the demand for truckers has really impacted these changes. There’s a change going on that’s impacting the short haul exemptions for local companies, you know, it’s extending that mile when it comes to these exceptions. Do you think this could possibly save some of these smaller companies and what do you think of this exception and how it’s going to benefit local companies?
Nate: You know, I think the companies that are well versed in short haul, my guess is that they’re not – this isn’t something that’s going ot save their company, because that’s their craft and that’s what they have figured out. I think that it may invite some new companies into short haul projects, because there’s some more flexibility with it now and I know that some of the work we do here in our flatbed division does involve some short haul work and I’m looking forward to our drivers being able to take advantage of that. As far as saving a company, I don’t think it’s going to save anybody. I think more it might create some new opportunities.
Troy: And just to wrap things up, for those listening, we’ve done a couple episodes on the coronavirus and how it’s impacting the trucking industry, and Nate I just wanted to ask you how this whole thing – how you’ve been dealing with and how it’s impacted you personally, whether it be working or having to be a little more flexible and make some changes.
Nate: We’ve actually, the whole team here at Rogers, has handled it exceptionally well. One of the divisions here is refrigerated and a lot of that involves food related product, raw materials for production and on the flatbed side of things we’re involved with some companies who produce and pack fertilizer and lime products that those fall under the COVID exceptions, along with the food, so we’ve been able to stay busy and really not skip a beat. I do know that we’re starting to see some closures of trucking companies on the rise again and my only guess to that is they’re related to maybe auto manufacturing or some other type of manufacturing that’s really taken a slowdown and had to close down their companies.
Troy: Awesome well Nate, I really appreciate you coming onto the show and I think this was a great conversation. WE were able to break down some of these possible changes and I totally think you’re right, I think this is going to cause some more flexibility and give a little more leeway for a lot of drivers out there and will hopefully make life easier for a lot of people. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Nate: Well, not necessarily. I appreciate you having me on Troy, it’s been a pleasure, and hopefully speak to you again.
Troy: Awesome, well, thank you Nate, I appreciate it.
Lenay: Alright thanks to Nate for coming on the show and thanks Troy for getting that interview for us again. You know it’ll definitely be interesting to see how these hours of service play out and, you know how it’ll affect, well I mean just how the industry will be by September with the whole virus and everything that’s been going on. It does seem like it should start to pick back up again now that a lot of places across the country are reopening so, yeah. Lots of interesting things to come.
Troy: Yeah, and as always truckers, you know we’re going to keep an eye out and see how those regulations are implemented and come September, we’ll probably mention it on a future episode, or we’ll write a blog on the changes. Which, speaking of, I do actually currently have a blog on the changes so feel free to go to AllTruckJobs.com and check that blog out. That kind of breaks down the current HOS situation and then how those rules are going to change come September. So, feel free to check that out, and you know, reach out to us on social media, of course, let us know your thoughts on the matter, and we always want to hear from our listeners.
Lenay: Yeah definitely, we’d be interested to hear how the hours of service are affecting you right now and what you think about the changes to come. And while you’re online, please take the time to leave us a review.
Troy: Alright, Lenay, let’s go enjoy some sunshine this weekend, hopefully.
Lenay: Yeah, absolutely, have a good weekend Troy! I hope to see you soon
Troy: Yes, and as always, I’m your co-host Troy Diffenderfer
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host, Lenay Ruhl
Troy: And this has been Big Rig Banter
Music – Thanks for tuning into another edition of Big Rig Banter. For your next job check out AllTruckJobs.com, the premier online source for finding the best driver jobs in the country. Browse hundreds of positions by freight or driver type to get back on the road with confidence. Click subscribe to keep the conversations coming until next time on Big Rig Banter.
