Federal agencies Hours of service Bus/limo/taxi Trucking Transportation

FMCSA announces long-awaited proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs

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Photo: WendellandCarolyn/iStockphoto

UPDATE: The proposed rule was published in the Aug. 22 Federal Register. Comments are due Oct. 7.

Washington — After numerous delays, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has unveiled a highly anticipated proposed rule the agency claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.

Announced in an Aug. 14 press release, highlights of the proposal include:

  • Expanding the current 100-air mile short haul exemption to 14 hours on duty from 12 hours on duty, to be consistent with rules for long-haul truck drivers.
  • Extending the current 14-hour on-duty limitation by up to two hours when a truck driver encounters adverse driving conditions.
  • Revising the current mandatory 30-minute break for truck drivers after eight hours of continuous driving.
  • Reinstating the option for splitting up the required 10-hour off-duty rest break for drivers operating trucks equipped with sleeper berth compartments.
  • Allowing covered commercial motor vehicle operators one rest break – for up to three consecutive hours – during every 14-hour on-duty period.
  • Allowing covered CMV operators to use multiple off-duty periods of at least three hours in place of taking 10 consecutive hours off duty.

“FMCSA wants drivers and all CMV stakeholders to share their thoughts and opinions on the proposed changes to hours-of-service rules that we are putting forward today,” FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez said in the release. “We listened directly to the concerns of drivers for rules that are safer and have more flexibility – and we have acted. We encourage everyone to review and comment on this proposal.”

Comments will be due 45 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register.

FMCSA received more than 5,200 comments on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Aug. 23, 2018, Federal Register. The agency submitted the proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget on March 28, and a Department of Transportation regulatory update released in May indicated June 7 as the target publication date.

When that date passed, a new DOT regulatory update released in June targeted July 31 as the publication date. The anticipation continued as OMB kept the proposed legislation under review into August.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and TruckerNation.org – which long petitioned FMCSA for HOS reform – are among the groups expressing optimism about the development.

OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer called the announcement “a big step in the right direction” to “give drivers more flexibility and, ultimately, improve highway safety,” in an article published Aug. 14 in OOIDA’s Land Line magazine.

“Thanks to all of you who took the time to engage; our voices have been heard, and the industry and FMCSA have listened,” TruckerNation posted on its Twitter account on Aug. 14. “Flexibility in HOS is now a reality.”

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Additionally, the American Trucking Associations lauded Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Martinez and FMCSA.

“We look forward to studying and understanding how these proposed changes will impact our industry so we can provide relevant data and information to strengthen and support a good final rule that bolsters safety and provides drivers needed flexibility,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in an Aug. 14 press release.

International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa voiced his opposition, however, emphasizing in an Aug. 14 press release the “serious concerns” the labor union finds with the proposal.

“In an effort to increase so-called ‘flexibility’ for trucking companies, the FMCSA is abandoning safety and allowing drivers to push themselves to the limit even further,” Hoffa said in the release. “Changes for short-haul truckers, for example, would extend their days from 12 to 14 hours on the job. That means a longer and more exhausting workday for tens of thousands of American workers. The Teamsters are also concerned about language changing the 30-minute rest break and the ability of drivers to press the pause button on their hours of service clock.”

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Daljeet singh
August 15, 2019
Yes I am agree as a driver we need flexibility in our daily window. We are facing so many difficulties due tu elog while in traffic,bad weather its too dangerous now days due to elig because we are always in rush

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Duane
August 17, 2019
It is very important to get these “hours” rules changed as per proposed ... as the rules of “hours” currently stand they are very dangerous! .. Giving drivers flexibility makes them much much safer on the road!! Please expedite these proposed rules !, Owner of a small trucking company and Commercial driver for over 40 years myself.

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Glenn
August 21, 2019
The only flexability offered in the hos is for shippers, receivers & dispatch. It doesn't help the driver, if anything it hurt them. Now they can be told to use the 3 hour pause at pick up or delivery, that way they can be pushed to run, it makes it possible to push them into a 17 hour work day. Do away with the 14 hour clock all together. Trucking is not a 9-5 job, it shouldn't be regulated that way. Before hos we could run 10 hours with an 8 hour break, you could break it up how ever. As long as you didn't run more than 10 hours in a 24 hour period without an 8 hour break you were good. Also 34 hour reset is ridiculous for an over the road driver! Could you imagine sitting in a truck away from home for 34 hours?

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Tom Oswald
September 18, 2019
Excluding the 34hr reset rule, we should simply go back to the rules prior to 2003 changes. This circadian clock "scientific study" is quackery. Unless of course you let the drivers "work" 14hrs regardless of driving, loading/off-loading, fueling, napping whatever! However, your parking problem will go up exponentially. Cannot park all 3-5m trucks and the same time every day. Pre-2003 rules allowed breaks, split sleeper, etc that stopped the 15hr clock. Granted the driving 10hrs and sleeping 8 has changed but the extra driving hour is nothing compared to the overstated 10hr break. No human being needs 10hrs of sleep, why make a driver sit and "wait" till he has his hours. Everyone knows sitting around watching a clock makes you more tired than actually working. All these exemptions are proving a great point, "cookie cutter" rules cannot work in such a diverse industry. Simply go back to stopping the clock, splitting the 8hrs or the ridiculous 10hrs whichever way the driver wants. Drivers are human, they drive machines - do mix this up! Without trucks, this country's supply for goods would come to a ridiculous halt. Do the right thing! Repeal all the rules and regulations post 2003. Then it would not really matter about the ELDs. The rules were in place since the 30s, making changes because rules are old does not make sense if you handcuff the folks that honor such rules. In addition, make ELDs manufacturers do a GPS version for ALL trucks to be included. “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ― Benjamin Franklin

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Raymundo Rivas
September 24, 2019
Drivers hauling frack sand may qualify for HOS waiting time exception

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Robert
October 3, 2019
Why dont you just climb down off your high horse fmcsa and adopt the canadian rules of service they work and work well you just need to admit that you are wrong and canada is right Hours of service in Canada work and will work just fine in the good old USA

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Gary Shaw
October 7, 2019
HOS Why can't there be a compromise, like splitting up the hours and stopping the clock.. If you were a driver you understand how it feels to be the most over regulate industry on the world. Most of all ur data or studies are done without the real trucker invoild, The Owner Operators, who are not ATA members. And not an ATA members driver where there forced to say what the top executives tell them to say. Why not a 16 hours on duty and 8 hours off, split if need, like shipper and receivers will hold you up, go off duty and go inti sleeper and take a nap.. Not everyone body is the same, For example our military men and women are up 18 hours or more, Our police officers, Doctors up for long hours and perform surgical procedures. Its completely under fair to small businesses to tell them how many hours they can work there business if there safe.. #UCAD

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Richard Childress
October 10, 2019
Making hours of service more strict will cause road rage people will be driving faster going to their destination well they are already doing it scenes we moved from paper logs to Elog. For a lot drivers it’s causing stress.