The American Trucking Associations is pleased that the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has denied Public Citizen's motion to vacate interim regulations adopted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration governing truck driver work and rest, known as hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.
This January 24 ruling confirms ATA's view that the court's prior concerns with the 11-hour daily drive-time limit and 34-hour restart provisions of the HOS rules were only procedural in nature and that the court does not view those provisions as inherently unsafe.
“Government and industry safety data clearly indicate that the current rules are working in terms of driver health, truck safety, and overall highway safety,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. “The rules have been in force for four years, and safety has improved over this time period.”
Part of an interim final rule, the current regulations stay in place while FMCSA collects additional safety data, secures comments from interested parties, and subjects its scientific analyses to peer review. ATA is working with its members to provide more information to the agency about motor carriers' safety experiences under the 11- and 34-hour provisions.
