Trucking industry group petitions against Hours of Service rule change
ATA vows to fight the U.S. Court of Appeals' July decision on the HOS rule
By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 9/6/2007 12:28:00 PM
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) announced this week it is “fighting on two fronts to retain the current Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations” that govern the hours that truck drivers can work.
ATA on Aug. 31 petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to maintain the current Hours of Service for truckers, which include 11-hour daily driving limit and 34-hour restart provisions of the Hours-of-Service regulations.
The move came after a late July decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. Circuit which overturned two portions of the latest version of truckers’ Hours of Service (HOS) rules, shortening drivers’ daily driving time from 11 hours back to the original rule of 10 hours, and removing the 34-hour restart period.
ATA cited “the potential for "widespread disruption in the industry and the supply chain," as its reason for petitioning to keep the current Hours of Service regulations.
ATA feels it would be impossible for the trucking industry to adapt to immediate changes in the daily driving limit and restart provisions without significant and costly impacts upon carriers’ operations. “ATA also argues that the inability of many states to immediately adapt to the new requirements will result in a patchwork of enforcement, which could undermine the agency’s safety efforts,” its statement says.
Also, ATA said if it receives no reaction from the FMCSA, it will file with the court for stay of its decision, which would will delay the timing of the implementation of the new rules at least until the court rules on ATA's request.
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