Dispatchers want you to be working all the time and have no time to yourself. This will cause company drivers to work through break time. It used to be that you could drive for up to 16 hours in a 24 hr period the way they defined working hours and the way it got broken down in the log books. It was mental acrobatics but I used to do them backwards sometimes to look legal when I wasn't.

Trump does.

How will it help the economy?
Who donated to make this happen?
How much did they give?

These changes in regulations are not bad. I'm always happy to go into Canada as the rules there are more flexible. In Canada you can drive for up to 13 hours a day, in the US it's 11. There is no 8 hour "off duty" requirement. You can work/drive for up to 70 hours every 7 days in Canada, in the US it's 70 hours every 8 days. Plus your 13 resets the next day after 8 hours off rather than 10 in the US.

The expansion of the working day for short haul drivers makes them the same as long haul drivers - I can work/drive no more than 14 consecutive hours before I need 10 hours off before I can drive again. The 7/3 split gives me more flexibility to take naps for when I do get tired. And the ability to use "on duty" time as a break makes sense to me as unloading my trailer can take up to 3 hours and for a good part of that time I'm standing around waiting on the unloading crew. It probably doesn't make sense for those drivers who "drop and hook" and don't handle their freight at all - e.g. Walmart drivers. Walmart looks after their drivers - I just hope they don't screw them over.

As for driving drowsy, well that's on the individual driver. I for one will not drive drowsy, and if I tell my manager I can't go on because I am too sleepy, he/she will understand 100%. A major part of my role is to ensure that I can deliver on time, and with proper trip planning I can do just that. If I can't deliver on time, I'm supposed to give a realistic ETA and reasons why I can't make it - communication is key. Also my employers have a motto they live by - "safety, why risk it?". Anything that risks safety is frowned upon. All new drivers are screened and tested for sleep apnea, and supplied with a CPAP (on a cost sharing basis) if needed.

I think these changes are sensible and helpful. Sadly I think conservative drivers (and too many drivers are Trump humpers IMO) will associate then with the Trump regime and will remember this come November.

As for Love's in that picture ahead - love 'em.