I appreciate Douglas Rooks’s recent editorial “Should We Really Take This Chance?” because it opens up a much needed opportunity to address trucking safety as it relates to driver fatigue. Mr. Rooks is correct to point to Senator Collins’ advocacy for highway safety in Maine when she secured legislation that allowed all of Maine’s commercial truck traffic to use the interstate system and avoid our secondary roads and rural downtown districts. However, he is way off base when it comes to the Senator’s recent efforts to revert two portions of the restart provision back to the old rule.

In an attempt to make a complicated issue simple, the trucking industry that is engaged in interstate commerce is regulated by hoursof service rules that prescribe how many hours a truck driver can drive and work each day and each week. If a driver resets their weekly duty log — due to things like delays caused by commerce, traffic, weather or mechanical issues, or even to accommodate a different delivery location or schedule — then they must take at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. This did not change in the proposal championed by Senator Collins, nor was there any change made to the number of hours a driver can drive each day (11) or the number of hours a driver can be on duty each day (14) or the maximum cumulative onduty hours (60 in 7 days). It is also important to point out that the new requirement for truck drivers to take a 30 minute rest break for every 8 hours worked remains unchanged.

So what changed, you might ask, that is causing critics to shamefully claim degradation to safety will occur? Two things. While the unintended consequences are studied, the industry will go back to the old rules that do not require two consecutive overnight periods between 1am and 5am and allows drivers to use a 34-hour restart more than once per week. Senator Collins is not suspending the rule allowing a 34 hour weekly rest break for truckers as Mr. Rooks indicates.

These changes are important for highway safety because the artificial confinements placed on the restart are causing our highways to be statistically less safe, as they forced more commercial truck traffic onto the roads after 5am which is a heavy congestion period. Most truck drivers want to be on the road when they are rested and when there is less traffic and, whether trucking critics like it or not, this is the safer alternative.

Mr. Rooks points to the often-used but exceptionally deceptive statement that the Collins change allows “maximum hours to go from 70 to 82” every week. Our organization represents 1,300 member companies and in our many conversations with our members on this issue, they universally agree that this argument is predicated on unlikely, improbable and imaginary logistics. It’s like saying that while I suppose it is possible for me to go out and run a marathon tomorrow, it is very unlikely that I would.

As stated earlier, Senator Collins’ proposal makes zero changes to the daily, weekly or rest break requirements for truck drivers.

Saying otherwise is misleading, at best.

Safety, as we all know, is about attitude and commitment. From trucking company owners, to dispatchers, to technicians keeping the equipment in good operating order, to the truck drivers who move our economy. And while I could not agree more with Mr. Rooks’ suggestion that trucking companies could always hire more drivers, the problem is supply and demand — too much demand for drivers and not enough supply of ones that qualify under the strict FMCSA requirements. If the supply existed, the trucking industry would hire them tomorrow.

Our industry is actively looking for qualified drivers to fill a serious employment gap (both truck drivers and technicians) but finding safe and professional drivers with the experience needed to keep our roads safe has proven challenging. Our industry cannot put just anyone behind the wheel who might not be ready for that immense responsibility. On-the-job training is a time consuming process when it comes to hiring and retaining professional truck drivers and it is a responsibility that our industry takes very seriously.

I am happy to work for an industry that invests at least $7 billion on safety enhancements each year. On behalf of the 30,000 people who make their living in the trucking industry in Maine, we would like to thank Senator Collins for working so hard to improve highway safety.

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Brian Parke is president and CEO of the Maine Motor Transport Association.