Court Rejects Hours of Service Challenge
Keeps 11th Hour, Weekly Reset
By Sean McNally, Senior Reporter
This story appears in the Jan. 28 print edition of Transport Topics.
A federal court rejected a request that it overturn the driver hours-of-service rule retaining controversial longer driving times that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued last month.
The request, by Public Citizen and other advocacy groups, had asked the court to strike down FMCSA’s rule because it allows drivers to be behind the wheel for 11 hours in a workday and to start a new work week after resting for 34 consecutive hours.
Despite rejecting Public Citizen’s most recent request, the court did not close the door on the group challenging the new interim rule.
Bob Digges, deputy general counsel for American Trucking Associations, said Jan. 24 he did not expect such a challenge, but added, “I never underestimate the litigious nature of Public Citizen.”
In 2003, FMCSA revised the hours-of-service rule for the first time in more than 60 years, allowing truckers to drive for 11 hours and work for 14 consecutive hours, with a 10-hour mandatory rest period. The old rule allowed 10 hours of driving in a 15-hour, stoppable, on-duty period, with an eight-hour rest.
The rule has been in and out of courts since then.
In a brief ruling issued Jan. 23 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Judges Karen Henderson and Merrick Garland denied Public Citizen’s request that the court “enforce” a July ruling appearing to strike the 11th hour of driving and the 34-hour restart because FMCSA had inadequate justification for those provisions.
Last month, however, the agency published a new “interim” driver-hours rule, which kept the controversial provisions while adding additional support for the added driving time (12-17, p. 1).
“Of course, we’re very pleased” with the most recent decision, Digges said. “This sort of confirms what we’ve been saying, that the court only had procedural problems with what the agency did.”
Responding to the latest decision, FMCSA issued a statement Jan. 24 reaffirming the controversial provisions. “Yesterday, the court denied a request by an interest group to stop FMCSA from implementing its interim final rule on hours of service. Accordingly, the interim rule remains in effect.”
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Steve Keppler, director of policy and programs with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “Based upon what the court said in July, most people’s opinions were that the court rejected the rule because FMCSA failed to explain their procedures, rather than on the substance of the rule.”
In addition, Keppler said the latest “interim” rule still allows groups concerned about the rule to submit comments to the agency before it publishes a final regulation.
The decision drew disappointment and criticism from opponents of the rule.
“We’re disappointed with the court’s ruling,” said Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, an attorney with Public Citizen, “but we intend to submit comments on the [interim rule] and see what happens from there.”
“It’s tragic that the court is letting Transportation Secretary Mary Peters get away with continually ignoring the courts and Congress on matters of highway safety,” Teamsters spokeswoman Leslie Miller told Transport Topics.
Since 2003, Public Citizen and the Teamsters, along with several other interest groups, have had repeated success in forcing FMCSA to revise its rule, but the agency has similarly refused to back off the new limits.
Besides allowing 11 hours of driving before a mandated rest, the 2003 rule allowed drivers to reset their weekly driving limits with a 34-hour rest, a provision Public Citizen has contended allows for massive increases in aggregate driving time.
In both 2004 and 2007, the federal courts rejected all or part of the hours rule, citing procedural issues and a failure to consider the health of drivers.
While challenging FMCSA’s new interim rule is possible, Digges said that “could be a waste of time, since the final rule could come out before the court ruled on a new suit,” he said.
FMCSA said it was “currently taking public comments on the rule,” and after reviewing those comments, it will be “issuing a final rule on this issue before the year is out.”
While a suit was unlikely, the subject is far from settled, observers have said, and could drag out until next year after the Bush administration has left office (1-14, p. 1).
This story appears in the Jan. 28 print edition of Transport Topics.
A federal court rejected a request that it overturn the driver hours-of-service rule retaining controversial longer driving times that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued last month.
The request, by Public Citizen and other advocacy groups, had asked the court to strike down FMCSA’s rule because it allows drivers to be behind the wheel for 11 hours in a workday and to start a new work week after resting for 34 consecutive hours.
Despite rejecting Public Citizen’s most recent request, the court did not close the door on the group challenging the new interim rule.
Bob Digges, deputy general counsel for American Trucking Associations, said Jan. 24 he did not expect such a challenge, but added, “I never underestimate the litigious nature of Public Citizen.”
In 2003, FMCSA revised the hours-of-service rule for the first time in more than 60 years, allowing truckers to drive for 11 hours and work for 14 consecutive hours, with a 10-hour mandatory rest period. The old rule allowed 10 hours of driving in a 15-hour, stoppable, on-duty period, with an eight-hour rest.
The rule has been in and out of courts since then.
In a brief ruling issued Jan. 23 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Judges Karen Henderson and Merrick Garland denied Public Citizen’s request that the court “enforce” a July ruling appearing to strike the 11th hour of driving and the 34-hour restart because FMCSA had inadequate justification for those provisions.
Last month, however, the agency published a new “interim” driver-hours rule, which kept the controversial provisions while adding additional support for the added driving time (12-17, p. 1).
“Of course, we’re very pleased” with the most recent decision, Digges said. “This sort of confirms what we’ve been saying, that the court only had procedural problems with what the agency did.”
Responding to the latest decision, FMCSA issued a statement Jan. 24 reaffirming the controversial provisions. “Yesterday, the court denied a request by an interest group to stop FMCSA from implementing its interim final rule on hours of service. Accordingly, the interim rule remains in effect.”
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Steve Keppler, director of policy and programs with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “Based upon what the court said in July, most people’s opinions were that the court rejected the rule because FMCSA failed to explain their procedures, rather than on the substance of the rule.”
In addition, Keppler said the latest “interim” rule still allows groups concerned about the rule to submit comments to the agency before it publishes a final regulation.
The decision drew disappointment and criticism from opponents of the rule.
“We’re disappointed with the court’s ruling,” said Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, an attorney with Public Citizen, “but we intend to submit comments on the [interim rule] and see what happens from there.”
“It’s tragic that the court is letting Transportation Secretary Mary Peters get away with continually ignoring the courts and Congress on matters of highway safety,” Teamsters spokeswoman Leslie Miller told Transport Topics.
Since 2003, Public Citizen and the Teamsters, along with several other interest groups, have had repeated success in forcing FMCSA to revise its rule, but the agency has similarly refused to back off the new limits.
Besides allowing 11 hours of driving before a mandated rest, the 2003 rule allowed drivers to reset their weekly driving limits with a 34-hour rest, a provision Public Citizen has contended allows for massive increases in aggregate driving time.
In both 2004 and 2007, the federal courts rejected all or part of the hours rule, citing procedural issues and a failure to consider the health of drivers.
While challenging FMCSA’s new interim rule is possible, Digges said that “could be a waste of time, since the final rule could come out before the court ruled on a new suit,” he said.
FMCSA said it was “currently taking public comments on the rule,” and after reviewing those comments, it will be “issuing a final rule on this issue before the year is out.”
While a suit was unlikely, the subject is far from settled, observers have said, and could drag out until next year after the Bush administration has left office (1-14, p. 1).
