Officials Say Hours Plan Increases Driving Time

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>The Bush administration is considering a change in federal regulations to allow commercial truck and bus drivers to stay behind the wheel for 11 hours a day, up from 10 now, government sources told Transport Topics.

The expected reform of the hours-of-service rules would also allow drivers to continue to use written logbooks rather than be monitored through electronic onboard recorders, sources said.

The plan now under review by the Office of Management and Budget is significantly different from the hours reform plan the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed in April 2000. That would have allowed drivers a total of 12 hours on the job whether driving or not.