In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue a proposed rule relating to supporting documents for hours-of-service compliance. This order comes after years of delays and court proceedings alleging that the FMCSA failed to issue the rule as required by federal statutes.
Current Hours-of-Service Rules
According to the Department of Transportation and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the current hours-of-service rules state that drivers cannot drive more than 11 hours without taking at least 10 hours off duty. Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers also cannot drive after being on duty for 14 hours. In addition, drivers are only allowed to drive 60 hours in seven days or 70 hours in eight days. There is, however, a "restart" provision that provides that CMV operators can drive again after taking 34 consecutive hours off.
Compliance for these rules and the methods of reporting have been the subject of numerous disputes between the trucking industry and governmental agencies. But avoiding big-rig accidents caused by truck driver fatigue is an important factor in perserving public safety on our nation's highways.
American Trucking Association Dispute
A report in the Commercial Carrier Journal notes that the FMCSA used regulatory guidance instead of formal rulemaking to regulate hours-of-service supporting-documentation reporting for years. This practice led to confusion among carriers and, as a result, several court cases, including the one filed by the American Trucking Association (ATA).
The CCJ notes that the ATA suit began in January 2010, when the association asked the appellate court to force the FMCSA to issue a supporting-documentation regulation.
In March, the parties agreed to a joint motion holding the proceedings in abeyance to settle the case. In July, however, the ATA cited a lack of progress in the settlement talks and asked the D.C. Circuit to resume the case. The ATA argued that the FMCSA is violating its statutory mandate and harming all drivers and motor carriers in the process.
Failure to Issue Proposed Rule
The FMCSA was required by Congress to issue a rule on hours-of-service supporting documentation that must be kept by motor carriers. While this requirement was issued as part of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act of 1994, only two notices of proposed rulemaking were issued since that time; the last being in 2004 according to The Trucker magazine.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the FMCSA has until December 30, 2010, to issue the proposed rule.
