At a federal listening session this week, truck drivers delivered a consistent message: pay is the problem, not a shortage of hours. Drivers warned that layering new flexibility onto the hours-of-service framework without tackling unpaid detention and unpredictable compensation risks turning “rest” options into longer uncompensated workdays. The exchange underscored a widening gap between proposals to tweak time rules and what drivers say would actually keep them in the seat: reliable, enforceable pay for all on-duty time.
That debate is unfolding as the policy backdrop shifts fast. On Friday, Sept. 26, the U.S. Department of Transportation moved to sharply restrict how states issue commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens, requiring immigration-status verification and limiting eligibility to specific visa categories. DOT officials also signaled stepped-up enforcement against states they say have been too lax on English-language proficiency, heightening tensions with California and others. Supporters cast the changes as a safety measure; critics warn the moves could constrict an already tight labor pool just as carriers try to stabilize driver rosters.
The tougher federal stance didn’t come out of nowhere. A day earlier, DOT flagged a “major trucking safety” announcement tied to audits of non‑domiciled CDLs, a follow-on to August threats to withhold federal safety funds from states that don’t enforce English-language out-of-service criteria. Those deadlines arrived this week with signs of continued standoffs, particularly in California and Washington. For fleets operating across those jurisdictions, compliance uncertainty could complicate recruiting and onboarding, even as safety policies evolve.
Why it matters to carriers and drivers: the pay-versus-hours argument is more than a philosophical split. If flexibility pilots proceed without parallel reforms that ensure drivers are compensated for detention, local work and other non-driving tasks, fleets may see the same churn that has dogged longhaul trucking for years. Meanwhile, today’s faster-moving federal enforcement agenda—on licensing and proficiency standards—pulls attention toward who can drive, not how drivers are paid to do the work. That mismatch is exactly what drivers pushed back on this week.
Cost pressure hasn’t gone away either. Diesel’s national benchmark posted its latest weekly update on Sept. 23, a reminder that fuel remains a large, volatile line item that squeezes margins for small carriers and owner-operators and makes uncompensated hours sting more. When drivers aren’t paid for time at the dock or stuck in shipper queues, higher operating costs directly hit take-home pay.
What industry leaders can do now:
– Treat detention as a controllable cost, not an externality. Tighten contracts to guarantee detention compensation and hold counterparties to scheduled turns. If new HOS flexibility tools roll out, wall them off from being used to mask unpaid wait time.
– Pilot pay changes alongside any scheduling trials. If you test split-duty or other flexible windows, test guaranteed hourly pay for all on-duty time at the same time—and measure safety, turnover and utilization together. It’s the only way to know whether flexibility is improving rest or just elongating the day.
– Watch state-federal friction on licensing. The new noncitizen CDL limits and English enforcement push could ripple through hiring pipelines, particularly in ports, produce and other lanes that rely on immigrant labor. Build contingencies in recruiting and training plans until the rules settle.
– Engage the docket. If drivers’ core complaint is compensation, put real-world detention and dwell data into the record. Policymakers say they want evidence; carriers and drivers have it.
Bottom line: Washington is moving quickly on who gets to hold a CDL and how strictly states enforce language rules. Drivers, meanwhile, are asking regulators to fix how time is valued. Unless pay and policy move in tandem, the industry risks another round of churn—more “flexibility” on paper, and fewer drivers willing to live with it on the road.
Sources: FreightWaves, Associated Press, Reuters, Overdrive, U.S. Energy Information Administration
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