Four congressmen said they will introduce an amendment soon to temporarily block the federal government’s new hours-of-service rule for truck drivers, saying the rule would cost the trucking industry hundreds of millions of dollars if it is not stopped.
Update: House action delays move to block HOS rule.
The amendment would “prohibit funding for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement, administer, or enforce the new hours of service regulations for commercial drivers,” Reps. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), Tom Rice (R-S.C.), Trey Radel (R-Fla.) and Todd Rokita (R-Ill.) wrote in a letter to House members, encouraging them to support it.
The four will propose the amendment as part of the appropriations bill that would fund the departments of transportation and housing and urban development for 2014. After the bill expires on Sept. 30, 2014, FMCSA would be allowed to enforce the rule.
The hours-of-service rule took effect July 1, a year-and-a-half after FMCSA first made it final. It restricts use of the 34-hour restart to reset a driver’s weekly clock to once a week, requires that the restart contain two periods from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. and mandates a half-hour break from driving before a trucker can drive more than eight hours straight.
“The new HOS regulations decrease driver flexibility and raise costs for the already overburdened trucking industry,” the congressmen wrote in their letter. Citing a study by the American Transportation Research Institute, they said the rule would cost the trucking industry $376 million annually.
American Trucking Associations said it supports the amendment, because it would give FMCSA and the Department of Transportation time to complete a field study of the 34-hour restart, which Congress asked for in MAP-21.
“The amendment is in line with the intent of MAP-21, and will allow for the field study’s completion, and also for congressional review before FMCSA can move forward with HOS regulations changes,” ATA spokesman Sean McNally said.
For additional coverage, see the Aug. 5 print edition of Transport Topics.
