WASHINGTON—Under court order to re-examine the hours-of-service (HOS) rules for truck drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) last month re-published the current rules for public comment. The agency is seeking feedback on how those rules could be changed to respond to judicial concerns about the impact on drivers' health, said agency spokesman David Longo.

The FMCSA's actions, however, drew sharp rebukes from the very safety-advocacy groups that had successfully challenged the rules, which govern the number of hours a truck driver can work behind the wheel. Those groups had hoped the agency would announce substantive changes, but they were disappointed. "The agency is merely asking the public to comment on current HOS rules, the same rules that the Court of Appeals unanimously overturned because they were not based on the facts and scientific research," said Jacqueline Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (AHAS), in a statement. "It is time FMCSA issued HOS rules that will reduce driver fatigue and genuinely advance safety." AHAS is one of the groups that sued to overturn the HOS regulations.

The current HOS rules, which took effect in January 2004, allow truck drivers to operate a vehicle for 11 hours during a 14-hour on-duty period. Drivers are limited to 60 hours on duty over seven consecutive days, or 70 hours over eight consecutive days. A new driving cycle may begin after a driver has been off duty for at least 34 consecutive hours. Under these new rules, however, drivers are continuously on the clock while on duty, even when eating meals or waiting for their vehicles to be loaded or unloaded. The old rules restricted drivers to 10 hours of driving time during a 15-hour on-duty period, and non-driving time was counted as off-duty hours.

Last July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out the new rules in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of safety groups. In its decision, the appeals court said the FMCSA had failed to consider drivers' health when formulating the regulations. In particular, the panel of judges faulted the agency for failing to provide any scientific data that supported shortening the on-duty period by one hour while increasing drive time by one hour. The new standards remain in effect, however, while the FMCSA addresses the court's objections.

In its Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking, the FMCSA appears to be seeking public support—and evidence—to bolster its case for keeping the current HOS rules in place. "They posted the current rule as the proposed rule, with a series of questions," said Don Osterberg, vice president of safety and driver training for truckload carrier Schneider National. "Feedback from the industry will determine which way they go." He predicted that officials will use the comment period to try to create scientific support for the current rule.

The FMCSA has a deadline of September 30 for resolving the matter. The agency plans to gather public input until March 10, at which time it will either put forward a revised version of the regulations or dig in its heels on the current rules.