Obama administration to review truckers' Hours of Service rules yet again
Trucking regulations to get yet another review
Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 10/29/2009 4:59:02 PM
Back to the drawing board.
After years of revision and debate, the truckers' Hours of Service rules set by the The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) are back on the table for consideration.
Under the current HOS regulations, made final in November under the Bush administration, a driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty. The debate focuses on whether the maximum should be 10 or 11 hours. According to reports, the FMCSA agreed Tuesday to "review and reconsider" the hours-of-service rules and the Associated Press is reporting that the FMCSA says it will propose a new rule within the next nine months.
The American Trucking Associations support the current rules the regulations, saying they are "good safety rules." The Teamsters Union opposes the current regulations, saying in a statement "We will continue to push for a rule that protects truck drivers, instead of the greed of the trucking industry. Longer hours behind the wheel are dangerous for our members and the driving public."
"Safety in the trucking industry has greatly improved while operating under the current hours-of-service rules," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "Over the past five years we've seen a strong decline in truck-involved crashes on our nation's highways."
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