The battle over Hours of Service which began in October 2009 continues. On January 25, 2013, American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Bill Graves asked for a three-month delay following a pending federal court decision on the regulation.
In its final rule on December 27, 2011, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) required that compliance of the 34-hour restart provision drivers use to reset their weekly clocks and resume driving be established by July 1, 2013. In this rule the FMCSA indicated that “the industry and law enforcement might need extra time to train personnel and to adjust schedules and automated systems.”
It was the hope of the ATA and others in the industry that litigation regarding this matter would be decided far enough in advance for the industry to train their staff. This impacts law enforcement agencies, truck drivers and dispatchers who need to be certain of the rules to ensure that new requirements are properly adhered to. While much work has been underway to educate those impacted, there is still much more to be done which cannot be accomplished until the pending litigation is settled. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in a series of legal challenges to the hours of service rule March 15, 2013. This will leave little time to complete training when the final court decisions are not expected before mid-May or early June of this year.
In his letter to Anne Ferro of the FMCSA, ATA’s Graves asked if the delay “will avoid potentially duplicative and unnecessary training” and “prevent confusion” if the court decision “alters in any manner the final rule.” The ATA, which opposes changes to the restart provision and other elements of the new rule, wants the court to strike the regulation and send it back to the truck safety agency.
Other groups, including Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, argue the rule doesn't go far enough and wants to eliminate the restart provision and cut allowable driving time.
With no change the most controversial sections of the final rule, the 34-hour restart provision takes effect this July 1st. Graves says the new compliance date should be three months after the District of Columbia appellate court issues a ruling in ATA’s case against the rule. FMCSA is reviewing ATA’s request to postpone the effective date of the rule.
If unchanged the current ruling will have a further impact on the driver shortage and changes the economics of the trucking industry. This will impact shippers in the form of higher freight rates and longer transit times. In the long run time is money.
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