NTSB Questions Adequacy Of Rest Areas

May 9, 2000 9:20 AM, EDT

TAMPA, Fla. — The National Transportation Safety Board is about to chide the Department of Transportation for not providing truck drivers adequate opportunities to get a full measure of rest while on the road, according to the chairman of the NTSB.

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James E. Hall said his safety investigation agency extensively reviewed the shortage of rest areas on the nation’s highway system where tired truck drivers may stay long enough to get a good sleep and would release the results on May 16.

He also said a second, later report will point to the many holes in state regulation of intrastate trucking safety.

In an April 27 interview and in a speech earlier in the day to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Hall complained that DOT was not ensuring truck drivers received adequate opportunity for rest. The 1998 highway bill contained money for a second study of rest areas but not for construction of new and expanded facilities, he said.

For the full story, see the May 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.