FMCSA Extends Comment Deadline for Oilfield Rule

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has pushed back the deadline for public comment about changes to the hours-of-service rules for oilfield haulers.

The deadline was extended to Oct. 5 from Aug. 6 and the agency will hold three public listening sessions to receive comments on the issue.

The sessions will be held in Denver on Aug. 17 and Pittsburgh on Aug. 21. The third session will be in Dallas on a yet to be determined date in September.

The proposed changes to the rules would include restricting the number of oil and gas drivers allowed to extend their workdays beyond the 14-hour limit.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has said that the new provision allows drivers who are waiting at oil or gas well sites to count that time as off-duty, but that the exemption applies only for trucks that are “specially constructed for use at oil and gas sites” and whose operators require “extensive” training for the use of the equipment