ATRI Research Targets Costs and Benefits of HOS Rules

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has launched new research examining the costs and safety benefits associated with Hours-of-Service rules and the Electronic Logging Device mandate. The project begins with a survey asking truck drivers, motor carriers, law enforcement personnel, and other industry stakeholders to evaluate existing HOS and ELD requirements. The organization plans to use the responses to develop a broader framework for measuring the effects of trucking regulations. ATRI Research Advisory Committee identified the project as a top research priority for 2026.

ATRI Research Starts With HOS and ELD Rules

The first phase of the ATRI research focuses on two regulations that directly affect the daily operations of commercial truck drivers: Hours-of-Service requirements and the federal ELD mandate.

Participants are being asked to evaluate the overall HOS rules and ELD mandate based on two major factors: their perceived safety benefits and their costs of compliance.

The survey goes further by examining nine individual provisions within the two regulatory areas.

The HOS provisions included in the survey are:

• 11-hour driving limit
• 14-hour on-duty limit
• 30-minute break requirement
• 60/70-hour limit
• Split-sleeper berth provision
• Personal conveyance

The ELD provisions include:

• Device registration and certification requirements
• Record backup and security requirements
• Eight-day paper log exemption

For each area, respondents have an opportunity to provide their views on how the requirements affect safety and compliance costs.

Drivers Can Recommend Changes to Current Rules

The research is not limited to measuring whether participants view individual requirements positively or negatively.

ATRI is also asking respondents to recommend changes to the nine provisions. Those suggestions are intended to identify ways regulations could provide greater safety benefits while reducing compliance costs.

That gives truck drivers and motor carriers an opportunity to provide feedback based on their experience operating under the current rules.

The survey is open to multiple parts of the trucking industry. ATRI specifically identified truck drivers, motor carriers, and law enforcement as groups encouraged to participate.

Responses will remain confidential. ATRI said survey data will only be released in aggregated and anonymized form.

Why ATRI Is Studying Regulatory Costs and Benefits

The ATRI research is designed to create more than an assessment of HOS and ELD regulations.

ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee identified the development of a regulatory benefit-cost framework as one of the organization’s top research priorities for 2026.

The goal is to establish a structured way to examine both the benefits created by a regulation and the costs associated with following it.

Hours-of-Service rules and the ELD mandate were selected as the starting point. However, ATRI plans for the resulting framework to eventually be used when examining other trucking regulations.

Those future applications could include rules affecting safety, the trucking workforce, and environmental requirements.

That means the current HOS and ELD survey could help establish the methodology ATRI uses to evaluate a much broader range of regulations in the future.

HOS Rules Have Been a Long-Running Research Area

Hours-of-Service regulations have been the subject of trucking research and policy debate for decades.

ATRI itself has previously conducted multiple studies involving HOS regulations. Its previous research has examined subjects including the operational and economic impacts of HOS rules, the 34-hour restart provision, and potential safety and health effects associated with changes to the regulations.

The new project takes a different approach by attempting to create a framework that considers regulatory safety benefits alongside compliance costs.

ELDs also add another component to the analysis because electronic logging has become closely connected with how HOS compliance is documented and enforced.

By examining the two areas together, ATRI can collect information about both the underlying work-hour restrictions and the technology used to record compliance.

Survey Remains Open Through October 16

Truck drivers and other trucking industry participants have until October 16, 2026, to complete the HOS and ELD survey.

ATRI has made the questionnaire available online and is seeking responses from people with different roles throughout the industry.

The information gathered during this first phase will be used as ATRI develops its regulatory benefit-cost framework.

While the immediate focus is on HOS and ELD requirements, the project could have a wider reach. ATRI intends for the framework developed through the research to eventually help evaluate regulations involving safety, workforce issues, and environmental requirements across the trucking industry.