Truckers eagerly await hours-of-service proposal

Another projected date for the when FMCSA will publish its revised hours-of-service proposed rule is rapidly approaching. However, it still remains unclear when the notice of proposed rulemaking will be made public.

According to the Department of Transportation’s June report on significant rulemakings, July 31 was marked as the projected date. That isn’t guaranteed, however, as previous projected dates regarding hours of service have come and gone.

The road has been a long one for truck drivers who said the electronic logging mandate, which went into effect in December 2017, highlighted the lack of flexibility within the hours-of-service regulations.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association helped start the discussion on hours-of-service reform when the trucking group submitted a petition to FMCSA in February 2018. 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 the agency to eliminate the 30-minute rest break requirement.

FMCSA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking about the hours of service in August 2018. The agency hosted five public listening sessions on the topic and received more than 5,200 comments. Many of the comments from truck drivers said the current regulations are too rigid and can force drivers to travel in unsafe weather conditions or extreme traffic.

The proposed rule was sent to the Office of Management and Budget on March 28. As of July 26, the proposed rule was listed as “pending review.”

While no definitive details of the revised hours of service have been revealed, U.S. DOT Secretary Elaine Chao and FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez have each promised an increase in flexibility.

Previously, the projected date for publication was June 7. OMB allows for up to 90 days for review of proposed rules. The 90-day mark was reached on June 26, but OMB allows for one 30-day extension.

Even then, there is no guarantee a rule will clear. For example, a proposed speed limiter rule was under review at OMB for more than a year before being killed.

If and when the proposal is published, there will be a comment period before it can become a final rule.