Public Citizen Asks Court to Deny DOT Appeal on HOS

Public Citizen, one of the original plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging new hours-of-service rules for commercial drivers, asked a federal appeals court on Monday to reject requests from the government and trucking interests to delay a return to the pre-January rules.

In its brief, Public Citizen told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit that the stay “would likely stay in effect for years” while the agency goes through another rulemaking.

“What the agency seeks is unprecedented,” the brief stated, and is “contrary to the Court’s local rules and not justified on the facts.”

In July, the court rejected the rules put out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, citing the agency’s neglecting of driver health in the rulemaking.

The rules were challenged by Public Citizen and other groups on the grounds that it didn’t address congressional mandates, including driver health.

The revised hours-of-service rules that took effect Jan. 4, after years of study and controversy, extended the time drivers could drive by one hour, for a total of 11, but cut back by one hour the total hours drivers could be on duty before taking a break, making it 14. After 14 hours on duty, which the revised rule said must be consecutive hours, the driver must take a 10-hour rest.