Compliance Law Journal

precisely the age when many of them will be looking to choose a profession. It should therefore not be very surprising when many of them choose a different profession, one where they can actually work.

Licensure requirements are an important part of the government-failure explanation for the truck driver shortage, but if that were the only problematic set of regulations, the industry would likely be able to function reasonably well. Far more distortionary are the government’s safety regulations, which are numerous, complex, and often contradictory. Those safety regulations might be helpful in correcting negative safety externalities associated with having large trucks sharing the road with small cars, 51 but would likely cause government failures if not narrowly tailored.

A prime example of how the government fails to narrowly tailor its trucking regulations are its Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, which limit when a driver may drive and for how long. In other words, HOS regulations are a direct interference in the voluntary transactions between truck drivers and their employers. The newest HOS rules began to take effect on February 27, 2012, with the remainder taking effect on July 1, 2013.52 Among the rules implemented are the following:

 11-hour driving limit: A driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off-duty, and may drive no more than 70 hours in a 7-day period; 53

 14-hour limit: A driver may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty, even if, because of off-duty time taken during those 14 hours, the driver has not reached the 11-hour limit; 54

 Rest breaks: A driver may not drive more than 8 consecutive hours without an off-duty period or sleeper berth period55 of at least 30 minutes; 56 and

 60/70-hour limit: A driver may not drive after 60/70 hours on duty during a 7/8 consecutive day period, and may only start a new 7/8 day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty. 57

51. But see Kidd, supra note 12, at 148–51 (describing the Coaseian argument that the notion of “externalities” presupposes which party is wrong and hinders an efficient resolution of disputes). See also Ronald Coase, The Problem of Social Cost, 3 J. L. & ECON. 1, 13–15 (1960).

52. Summary of Hours and Service Regulations, U.S. DEP’T TRANSP., FED. MOTOR CARRIER SAFTEY ADMIN. (Dec. 18, 2014) https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours- service/summary-hours-service-regulations#sthash.fEC2BuWj.dpuf.