FMCSA issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for HOS regulations

A new look may be coming to motor carrier hours-of-service (HOS) rules, with the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) geared towards HOS changes, with an emphasis on increasing safety through updating existing commercial motor vehicle driver regulations.

DOT Secretary Elaine Chao said that this proposed rule seeks to enhance safety by giving America’s commercial drivers more flexibility while maintaining the safety limits on driving time.

And FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez added that FMCSA wants drivers and all CMV stakeholders to share their thoughts and opinions on the proposed changes to hours of service rules that it is putting forward today.

“We listened directly to the concerns of drivers for rules that are safer and have more flexibility—and we have acted,” he said. “We encourage everyone to review and comment on this proposal.”

On a conference call today, Martinez said that these proposals are a common sense approach to crafting hours of service regulations.

FMCSA officials said that this proposal would not increase driving time and would continue to prevent CMV operators without at least a 30-minute change in duty status. They also said that the proposed rule is estimated to provide $274 million in savings for the United States economy and its consumers.

The public comment period for this HOS NPRM is open for 45 days, FMCSA said.

The FMCSA’s proposed HOS rule is focused on the following areas:

• increasing safety and flexibility for the 30 minute break rule by tying the break requirement to eight hours of driving time without an interruption for at least 30 minutes, and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using on duty, not driving status, rather than off duty;
• modifying the sleeper-berth exception to allow drivers to split their required 10 hours off duty into two periods: one period of at least seven consecutive hours in the sleeper berth and the other period of not less than two consecutive hours, either off duty or in the sleeper berth. Neither period would count against the driver’s 14‑hour driving window;
• allowing one off-duty break of at least 30 minutes, but not more than three hours, that would pause a truck driver’s 14-hour driving window, provided the driver takes 10 consecutive hours off-duty at the end of the work shift;
• modifying the adverse driving conditions exception by extending by two hours the maximum window during which driving is permitted; and
• a change to the short-haul exception available to certain commercial drivers by lengthening the drivers’ maximum on‑duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extending the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles

FMCSA’s HOS proposal received a sound endorsement from the American Trucking Associations.

“Secretary Chao and Administrator Martinez are to be commended for their commitment to an open and data-driven process to update the hours-of-service rules,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear in a statement. “We look forward to studying and understanding how these proposed changes will impact our industry so we can provide relevant data and information to strengthen and support a good final rule that bolsters safety and provides drivers needed flexibility.

In early July, the Associated Press reported that the DOT was taking steps to “relax” the current HOS rules, which many view as another example of the Trump administration’s de-regulation efforts, which are viewed favorably by business interests, if not safety interests.

While motor carriers yearn for more flexibility in current HOS rules, in order to be more efficient, the report made it clear that safety concerns remain paramount, citing a May report issued by the FMCSA, which said there were 4,657 large trucks involved in fatal crashes in 2017, a 10% increase over 2016.