DOT 'Prepared' to Extend Hours Comment Period

Bowing to political pressure from numerous trucking and shippers groups, the Department of Transportation is "prepared" to extend the deadline for public comments on proposed changes to the hours-of-service regulations until late October.

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The decision was made to forestall plans by the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee to prohibit DOT from issuing a final rule until Sept. 30, 2001, said the third-ranking at DOT. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) planned to include the prohibition in a DOT spending bill scheduled for consideration by the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee June 13.

"Frankly, it's a little bizarre," DOT Associate Deputy Secretary Stephen Van Beek said of Shelby's desire to block the proposal, noting that Congress in 1995 ordered DOT to update the 61-year-old regulation by March 1999.

Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater said DOT strongly opposes Shelby's proposed amendment, saying it would "signal an end to our efforts to address driver fatigue."

As proposed April 25, DOT gave interested parties until July 31 to comment on the 270-page proposal.

In a June 8 letter to Shelby, Slater said DOT is "prepared to extend the comment period for 90 days to allow interested members of the public more time for in-depth analysis of the proposal's details."

Numerous trucking organizations, including American Trucking Associations, Motor Freight Carriers Association and National Private Truck Council, had sought more time to review the proposal. The National Association of Manufacturers, American Bakers Association, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Teamsters union and AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department also called for more time.

Speaking at the first annual government affairs conference of the Transportation Intermediaries Association Friday morning, Van Beek said DOT remains committed to completing work on the rule by year's end.