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Industry News

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

FMCSA Releases New Hours-of-Service Final Rule

On December 22, 2011, the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) released its long-anticipated final rule on hours-of-service (HOS) requirements. The agency states that the purpose of the rule is to reduce excessively long work hours that increase both the risk of fatigue-related crashes and long-term health problems for commercial motor vehicle drivers. The major provisions of the final rule include an unchanged 11-hour daily driving limit, a 12-hour reduction of the maximum number of hours a truck driver can work within a week, a restart provision that must cover at least 34 consecutive hours and include at least two periods between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., and a mandatory 30-minute break after eight consecutive hours on duty. The FMCSA maintains that these changes will affect only the small minority of drivers who regularly work the longer hours, and that the cost of the rule represents a small fraction of one percent of trucking industry revenues.

Click here for a detailed description of the final rule and background information on HOS.

Senate Committee Approves Truck Safety Legislation

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved and recommended S.1950, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Act, to be voted on by the full Senate. S.1950 is the truck safety section of the Senate’s pending highway reauthorization bill, MAP-21. The bill mandates electronic on-board recorders, establishes a drug and alcohol clearinghouse, and adds a written proficiency exam to entry-level driver training standards. It also calls for the creation of an employer notification system for driving violations, and a study of the safety and infrastructure effects of increasing truck size and weight limits. While the Senate continues to work on finding the means to finance its highway reauthorization bill, it is uncertain when S.1950 will be put to a vote on the Senate floor.

Click here for detailed information on S.1950.

Click here for detailed information on MAP-21.