On Aug. 14, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to revamp hours-of-service rules for commercial truck drivers. Arkansas Trucking Association along with the American Trucking Associations praises FMCSA for recognizing the opportunity to improve safety and provide additional flexibility for drivers on our nation’s highways.
“This proposed rule seeks to enhance safety by giving America’s commercial drivers more flexibility while maintaining the safety limits on driving time,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
FMCSA’s proposal on hours of service offers five key revisions to the existing rules:
- Tying the 30-minute break requirement to eight hours of driving time without an interruption for at least 30 minutes, and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using on duty, not driving status, rather than off duty.
- Modifying the sleeper-berth exception to allow drivers to split their required 10 hours off duty into two periods.
- Allowing one off-duty break of at least 30 minutes, but not more than three hours, that would pause a truck driver’s 14-hour driving window, provided the driver takes 10 consecutive hours off duty at the end of the work shift.
- Modifying the adverse driving conditions exception by extending by two hours the maximum window during which driving is permitted.
- Changing the short haul exception by lengthening a driver’s maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extending the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.
“Electronic logging data has provided safety officials with more information to better regulate the industry,” said Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton. “We are committed to studying these proposed revisions and visiting with our members to learn how trucking and the safety of our nation’s highways might be improved with a good final rule.” The public comment period will be open for 45 days.
