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merican Trucking Associations is pursuing legislative actions to seek a delay in the truck driver hours-of-service rules’ implementation date of Oct. 1.
The group said it would also pursue a stand-alone bill in Congress that would delay enforcement of the rule’s sleeper-berth provisions until January 2006.
ATA President Bill Graves is also sending letters to the governors in all 50 states asking them to urge their state enforcement officials to follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s lead on a 3-month “soft enforcement” period for the revised hours-of-service rules.
FMCSA has generally accepted a 3-month transition period from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, that would give the trucking industry and state law enforcement officials time to adjust to the new rules.
The agency has released a memo stating it will delay enforcement until the end of the year, except in egregious conditions, and has encouraged states to do likewise.
But under existing procedures, more than 20 states have already codified the new rules into their state laws and have the option of immediate enforcement on interstate drivers and carriers, while the remainder of the states must follow an administrative or legislative approach to adoption.
