Hours of service comment period extended until Oct. 10

Truck drivers have until Oct. 10 to voice their opinion on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding potential changes to hours-of-service regulations.

The comment period was extended by 16 days, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on Wednesday, Sept. 19. A day earlier, Land Line confirmed that the comment period would be extended by fewer than 30 days.

FMCSA’s decision to extend the comment period from Sept. 24 until Oct. 10 came after several organizations requested extensions ranging from 30 to 60 days. The short extension stays in line with the agency’s message that it is trying to provide truck drivers flexibility within the hours of service as soon as possible.

The agency is scheduled to host four more public listening sessions before the end of the comment period. Listening sessions are slated for these dates:

• Sept. 22 in Reno, Nev.;
• Sept. 28 at the Guilty By Association Truck Show in Joplin, Mo.;
• Oct. 2 in Orlando, Fla.; and
• Oct. 10 in Washington, D.C.

FMCSA published the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on Aug. 23 asking for comments and data about possible HOS changes regarding short-haul operations, adverse driving conditions, the 30-minute break, and split-sleeper berth.

Comments can be made here.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association was out in front of the call for change to hours of service as the Association submitted a petition to FMCSA on Feb. 13. The petition asked for regulations to allow drivers to take a rest break once per 14-hour duty period for three consecutive hours if the driver is off-duty. OOIDA also asked for the agency to eliminate the 30-minute rest break requirement.

The Guilty By Association Truck Show will be Sept. 27-29 and will also serve as a celebration for OOIDA’s 45th anniversary of fighting for the rights of all truckers. Members of OOIDA’s leadership, as well as its government affairs, teams will be at the event to meet truck drivers and answer questions.

According to the GBATS schedule, the listening session will start at 3:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, Sept. 28 in 4 State Trucks’ shop area behind the main store.