OOIDA petitions FMCSA to change hours-of-service rules

Grain Valley, MO — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has sent a petition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeking to alter current hours-of-service regulations, the association announced Feb. 14.

OOIDA is requesting that drivers operating under HOS regulations be allowed one rest break during a 14-hour on-duty period – for up to three straight hours, if the driver is off duty the whole time.

“The rest break would effectively stop the 14-hour clock,” the organization states in a press release. “However, drivers would still need to log 10 consecutive hours off duty before the start of their next work shift.”

OOIDA also is calling for an end to the current 30-minute rest break rule.

“There are many operational situations where the 30-minute rest break requires drivers to stop when they simply do not need to,” Todd Spencer, OOIDA acting president and CEO, said in the release. “It’s either impractical or unsafe.”

American Trucking Associations Chairman Dave Manning highlighted HOS rules as one of the “many issues facing our industry” in a press release congratulating Raymond Martinez on his Senate confirmation as FMCSA administrator.

On Feb. 13, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) met with FMCSA Deputy Administrator Cathy Gautreaux and representatives from four Nebraska-based agricultural groups on HOS regulations.

“During the meeting, we talked about how the agency can bring greater flexibility for livestock haulers. I look forward to continuing these conversations,” Fischer said in a press release.

FMCSA issued a proposed rule seeking to clarify its “agricultural commodity” exception to its HOS regulations.

FMCSA, citing the Large Truck Crash Causation Study of 2007, states that fatigue is a factor in 13 percent of commercial motor vehicle crashes.