Why do the hours of service regulations exist?
- Drivers can spend more time with their families.
- Carriers can avoid paying their drivers overtime.
- Tired drivers are more likely to get into accidents. ✓
- To keep driving time within union rules.
Answer: C. Tired drivers are more likely to get into accidents.
The hours of service rules exist because tired drivers are more likely to get into accidents.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says these rules are meant to limit how long you can drive. It points to crash statistics showing a fatigued driver is more likely to be in a crash. It also says the rules have been revised to lower the risk of fatigue-related commercial vehicle crashes by giving drivers more chances to get extra rest. That makes fatigue and crash risk the reason for the rules, not family time, pay, or union schedules.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Drivers can spend more time with their families. — The passages give no family-time purpose for the rules; they describe them as limits on driving time meant to address fatigue and crash risk.
- B. Carriers can avoid paying their drivers overtime. — Nothing in the passages says the rules exist to help carriers avoid overtime pay; they are presented as safety regulations.
- D. To keep driving time within union rules. — The passages say these are hours of service regulations, including National Safety Code rules, not union driving-time rules.
Remember it
Think "rest lowers crash risk" whenever hours of service come up.