With Court's HOS Deadline Near, FMCSA Seen Preparing Response

s the deadline to replace the court-rejected hours-of-service rules for truck drivers drew nearer, various industry officials said they expected the government to ask the court to stay its decision so regulators would have time to develop another set of regulations.

Industry observers said they did not expect the Department of Justice, on behalf of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, to appeal the July 16 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

That court vacated the driver workday rules that took effect in January and sent them back to FMCSA to implement the decision, saying the agency had not sufficiently considered the effect of a rule change on driver health, as required by Congress.

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