Teamsters, Public Citizen File New Challenge to HOS Rules
he Teamsters union late Friday said that it had joined with Public Citizen in filing a new challenge to the new federal hours-of-service regulations issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The coalition filed a petition for reconsideration asking FMCSA to reevaluate several aspects of the new rule, which is scheduled to take effect Saturday.
We are extremely disappointed that the agency basically issued the same HOS rule that was thrown out by the federal court because that version didn't consider the health of the driver," Teamsters President James Hoffa said in a statement.
A federal court last year told FMCSA to reconsider the rules after Public Citizen and other groups said the rules could result in driver fatigue.
The Teamsters said they were filing a separate petition to address the sleeper-berth modification because of the effect it has on team drivers using sleeper cabs.
The new provision requires an eight-hour rest period, forcing a team driver to rest for eight hours in a moving truck, while the current rules require two rest periods with one being at least two hours long. Most team drivers now split their rest periods into two, five-hour stints, the Teamsters said.
On Jan. 4, 2004, new HOS rules took effect that expanded the time a driver can drive to 11 hours from 10, but cut back on the number of hours a driver can be on-duty from 15 to 14. They also eliminated the ability of drivers to "clock out" during meals and fuel breaks and for loading and unloading activity.
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