Graves expects HOS response this week

ORLANDO. Federal regulators should release a response later this week to the court ruling invalidating key provision of the current hours of service (HOS) rules, according to Gov. Bill Graves, president & CEO of the American Trucking Assns.

In late July, the U.S. Court of Appeals threw out portions of the 2005 HOS rules issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in response to a petition by Public Citizen. Specifically, it vacated the new rules that increased daily driving time from 10 hours to 11 hours and that “reset” a driver’s on-duty limits after an off-duty period of 34 hours.

ATA has petitioned the court to reconsider that decision and to let the 2005 provisions remain in force. The court is waiting for a federal response to its ruling before taking further action.

If FMCSA, the Dept. of Transportation and other federal regulators issue that response later this week, the court can be expected to decide whether to stay or uphold its ruling within six weeks, Graves said as the luncheon speaker at the TMW users meeting here today.

Even if the court rejects ATA’s petition and refuses to stay its original ruling, it could delay any return to older rules for some months, according to Graves. In that event, ATA and law enforcement officials have separately asked for a six-month transition period.