The federal hours-of-service rule’s July 1 implementation date should be postponed until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration completes mandated research on the rule, American Transportation Research Institute Chairman Steve Williams told a House panel Tuesday.
Williams — CEO of flatbed carrier Maverick USA and a former chairman of American Trucking Associations — said the rule’s requirements for truckers are “costly and unsupported by research,” and asked Congress to request independent analysis of the regulation and to require FMCSA to report to Congress on any future changes to HOS rules.
“FMCSA’s motivation to change these rules was not based on evidence demonstrating a problem,” said Williams, who testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s subcommittee on highways and transit.
“FMCSA’s three-paragraph statement in the rulemaking called ‘The Purpose and Need for Regulatory Action’ did not cite any research or data analysis showing a problem. That speaks volumes,” he said.
Williams told the panel the trucking industry “will lose operating flexibility and productivity,” said “the rules will increase driver stress and frustration” and said a 1.5% to 4% reduction in productivity will translate to “between $500 million and $1.4 billion in lost productivity.”
Several lawmakers at the hearnig appeared to share some of the trucking industry’s concerns over the rule’s impending effective date.
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), the subcommittee’s chairman, said he was “receptive to the concerns of many of my constituents who argue that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t provide the flexibility some companies need to take the appropriate rest breaks.”
Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), added that “as Mr. Petri mentioned, I think this is a one-size-fits-all approach to safety. Safety is paramount to all of us. We also need to make sure that when we’re implementing new rules and regulations, we’re letting the science drive it, not a knee-jerk reaction to something that happened last year or two years ago.”
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the subcommittee’s ranking member, said the rule’s progress was “getting to that point [where] using the best science available, the best data available, seems to be difficult and tortuous. FMCSA is going ahead with implementation before the judgment of the court . . . . I disagree with some folks; I thought it would be good to wait and see.”
