Trucking news: ATA says FMCSA supports motion for HOS stay

Staff -- Logistics Management, 9/24/2007

WASHINGTON—In the latest news regarding the regulations on truck driver hours-of-service (HOS) regulations, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) filed a memorandum in support of the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) motion for a stay regarding the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia's recent ruling on truck driver Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations.

Earlier this month, the ATA submitted a petition to the FMCSA which asked to retain the 11-hour daily driving limit and 34-hour restart provisions that are part of the truck driver HOS regulations.

The ATA petition regarding the HOS provisions originated from a July 24 decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia which stated that certain portions of the United States Government’s HOS rules and regulations are illegal. This ruling overturned the 11-hour daily driving limit and 34-hour restart provisions that have been in place since the current rules went into effect in October 2005, and it resets the HOS clock to 10 hours of maximum driving time each day.

And after the court ruling in July, ATA President and CEO Bill Graves asked for a stay for this ruling in a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, saying there was “no compelling reason” to eliminate the two provisions.

A statement issued on Friday by the ATA noted that the FMCSA said a stay was needed to “prevent substantial disruption of trucking operations,” adding that timing concerns and significant transition costs to the industry related to a rule change. The FMCSA also said that those costs may need to be incurred again, and it predicted there would be disruptions and confusion in HOS enforcement if the rules were changed.

The FMCSA also suggested to the court that it grant a 12-month stay at which time it would conduct a new rulemaking to consider new data and address the procedural shortcomings identified by the court, according to the ATA. 

And by keeping the current HOS regulations in place, the FMCSA added that "available data show that continuing the status quo will not diminish safety."