Sandberg Says Changing HOS Rules Would Cause Widespread Disruptions

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

nnette Sandberg, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said Tuesday that changing the federal hours-of-service rules for truck drivers would cause widespread disruptions across the trucking industry and significantly hamper the agency’s ability to coordinate enforcement efforts.

Sandberg made her remarks during an online chat session Tuesday on TTNews.com.

She also said most motor carriers and drivers were striving to comply with the regulations and that most rule violations resulted from poor record keeping.

n July, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the hours rules that had been in place since January, because it said FMCSA had not addressed driver health issues as required by Congress.

However, Sandberg said during the chat that FMCSA did consider driver health but interpreted the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 differently than had the court. She said the new rules gave drivers "significantly greater opportunity for restorative rest."

Sandberg said the agency was searching for studies on sleep and fatigue to see if the type of information exists that the court believed FMCSA should review.

ocating that information could determine how long FMCSA would need to address the courts concerns, she said.