Lawmakers call out FMCSA on overdue hours-of-service study

Washington – A group of 51 Congress members recently criticized the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for allowing new hours-of-service regulations to go into effect before the agency completed a field study on the rule’s effectiveness.

The new HOS rule requires truck drivers to take a rest break of at least 30 minutes after eight hours of on-duty time, and limits use of a 34-hour “restart” rule to only once every seven days – with two rest periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The July 2012 surface transportation funding bill known as MAP-21 required FMCSA to conduct a study by March 31 – three months before the rule’s July 1 effective date – and submit a final report to Congress by Sept. 30.

In a letter to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, the lawmakers requested an update from FMCSA on the field study and when the agency will submit the final report to Congress.

In an email to Safety+Health, an FMCSA spokesperson said the agency completed data collection for the field study in July.