Court Allows ATA Intervention in Hours-of-Service Challenge

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federal court has granted American Trucking Associations’ request to intervene in the group Public Citizen’s latest challenge to federal hours-of-service rules.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made the ruling to the challenge of rules set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, ATA said.

Public Citizen is expected to challenge the new rules’ 11-hour daily driving time limit, the 34-hour restart provision and FMCSA’s decision not to immediately mandate electronic onboard recorders to track driver hours.

The group filed suit against FMCSA in early February; ATA in mid-March intervened in the case, saying it supported FMCSA on the driver rules. (Click here for previous coverage.)

Also granted intervention in support of FMCSA were the shippers group NASSTRAC, the Health and Personal Care Logistics Conference and UPS Inc., the largest for-hire North American carrier.

The interveners will file a joint brief in support of the challenged aspects of the HOS rules, focusing on how they advance public safety while meeting operational needs of the trucking industry, according to ATA.

A briefing schedule has not yet been set and final resolution of the case is expected to take until at least spring of next year, ATA said.