Government Asks Court to Stay Decision on HOS Rules
he Department of Justice on Monday filed a motion asking a federal court to stay for at least six more months its earlier reversal of the new hours-of-service rules for truck drivers that took effect in January, according to court documents.
Justice took the action on behalf of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which administers the HOS rules.
The motion said FMCSA asked for a stay "pending the determination by the agancy what steps it will take . . . including the possibility of a final or interim final rule to replace the rule vacated by the court."
Also on Monday, American Trucking Associations, an intervenor in the original case, asked the court for a stay, Bob Digges, ATA’s chief deputy counsel, told Transport Topics.
Digges said the new rules provided for safer roads, despite the shortfalls the court found in July. The Distribution and LTL Carriers Association and the Truckload Carriers Association also filed for a stay.
“The instantaneous revival of the former HOS rules would cause chaos and would diminish highway safety,” ATA said in its motion.
“The trucking industry, shippers and the law enforcement community simply cannot convert from one HOS regime to another without a lengthy transition period. A judicially imposed immediate conversion to the former HOS rules would cause rampant confusion and severe dislocation for these stakeholders,” ATA said.
Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, the lead attorney for plaintiff Public Citizen, told Transport Topics she had not reviewed the motions yet, but said, “I’m sure we will oppose them.”
The new rules, which took effect Jan. 4, expanded the time a driver can drive from 10 to 11 hours a day, but cuts back on the number of hours a driver can be on-duty from 15 to 14 hours a day and eliminates the ability of drivers to "clock out" during meals and fuel breaks and for loading and unloading activity.
(Click here for more information from ATA.)
