Leaders of the Iowa Motor Truck Association object to new federal rules which seek to reduce the number of hours truckers can spend on the road. Scott Weiser is the executive director of the Iowa Motor Truck Association. He says the rules will upset their “just in time” delivery system.Weiser says the current rules are working, and there’s no need for changes. He says the industry has worked for 6 to 8 years on fatigue and they know when drivers should be allowed to drive.Weiser says if the new rules were in force today, there would need to be 180-thousand more semis on the road to handle the freight.The rules proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration limit truckers to no more than 12 hours of driving in a 14-hour period, forcing longer, off-the-road breaks. And “long-haul” truckers who go on cross-country routes would have to be off-duty at least 10 consecutive hours each day.
