Agency extends hours-of-service comment period

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2000

Faced with a firestorm of criticism over its proposed changes to its hours-of-service regulations, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has extended its comment period to Oct. 30. The original comment period was due to end July 31, but several trucking industry and shippers groups had requested an extension after voicing concerns about the proposal's impact on safety, productivity, and costs.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) agency's long-awaited draft of new rules governing truck drivers' hours of service was unveiled in April and immediately drew criticism from industry observers, truckers, shippers, and highway-safety advocates.Truckers and shippers have charged the plan would erode productivity without significantly improving safety. They also fear the proposal would require the hiring of more drivers, already a concern in an industry with more than 80,000 job vacancies nationwide.

The FMCSA proposal would:

• Be based on a 24-hour clock, rather than on the 18-hour cycle now in effect;

• Create five categories of drivers with different service rules for each category;

• Allow some types of drivers to work longer periods than they do under current rules;

• Call for mandatory rest periods and for drivers to have two consecutive days off each week; and

• Require phased-in installation of on-board recording devices to track compliance with the rules.

The DOT estimates that the changes would cost the trucking industry $490 million a year but would save $6.8 billion over 10 years by preventing accidents.

Edward M. Emmett, president of the National Industrial Transportation League, says it's doubtful the proposal would prevent accidents. He notes that the rule change would encourage truckers to cease operations on federal roadways between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., shifting more truck traffic onto highways during rush hours. "If you put more trucks on the road [at rush hour], you negate any kind of safety advantage," he adds. "The proposal is well-meaning, but I don't think it would accomplish what [the FMCSA] wants." He says he expects the hours-of-service proposal will either languish at the agency or be killed outright with a congressional budget ax.