DB1 OSHA 5

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Discussion Board 1 Fleet and Driver Safety

Part II: There currently is debate over extending the hours of service (HOS) for truck drivers (i.e., to allow them to drive more hours than they currently are allowed to drive). Do you think that the HOS should be extended? Why, or why not?

Reply to: Jessica Pabalate

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Hi everyone, my name is Jessica Pabalate, and I live in north-central Alabama. I currently work for a general contractor as a corporate safety manager. I worked in the safety field for the healthcare industry over ten years ago and finally made my way back into a safety role, only in construction this time. I am working towards a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety and health and plan to study for the CSP certification eventually. My overall goal is to further my education and advance my career in construction safety.

 

I do not think hours of service should be extended for truck drivers because of increased driver fatigue and higher risk of crashes. There was a really terrible early morning accident with multiple fatalities in a road construction zone a couple weeks ago on my commute that had the interstate shut down both ways for over six hours. Production and shipping schedules should not be put ahead of the safety of truck drivers, their families, and other drivers on the road. Hiring more truck drivers and having realistic delivery timelines would be much better solutions than putting more hours of service on existing drivers. I travel for work a lot and driving fatigue and drowsiness are serious issues which I’ve experienced firsthand just driving a passenger vehicle. The pressures of driving a truck with production and time constraints on top of that are an entire extra level and adding more hours would only be detrimental.

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