ATA Challenges New Hours of Service Restrictions

On Feb. 14, American Trucking Associations (ATA) filed a petition with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia asking the court to review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) final hours-of-service rule. ATA pointed out in its lawsuit that the rules that have been in place since 2004 have contributed to unprecedented improvement in highway safety. The lawsuit challenges the steps FMCSA took in changing the rules that do not meet the required legal standards. FMCSA released its latest revision to the truck driver hours-of-service regulations in December 2011. The rules are effective on July 1, 2013, except for the change to the definition of on-duty time which becomes effective Feb. 21, 2012. For more information on the rule, please click here. AGC commented twice on the proposed rule change recommending that FMCSA: maintain the construction exemption but increase the distance coverage to a 100-air-mile radius; continue to allow 11 hours of driving time in each driving window; continue to allow the existing 14 hours maximum on-duty time within driving window; and “on duty” time for construction drivers should not include waiting time to deliver product. AGC was successful in having the construction exemption included in statute in 1993. For more information, please contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.