DOT Relents, Extends Hours Comment Period

The Department of Transportation is extending the deadline for comments on its proposed hours of service rulemaking until Oct. 30.

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In a June 8 press release, Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater said the three-month extension was made at the request of industry groups.

"We have heard from industry representatives about the pace of the rulemaking, and I am 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 and to clarify matters that have arisen since the proposal was issued," Slater said.

DOT had set a deadline of July 31 for public comment on the massive overhaul of the regulations governing the number of hours truck and bus drivers may work, which the agency unveiled April 25.

The decision moves the comment deadline to the end of October.

Numerous trucking organizations, including American Trucking Associations, Motor Freight Carriers Association and National Private Truck Council, had sought more time to consider the ramifications of the 270-page proposal. The National Association of Manufacturers, the American Bakers Association the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the Teamsters union and the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department also called for more time.

Slater's decision came in response to a senator's proposal to block DOT from issuing the regulations on schedule. DOT is trying to get the final rule in place by the end of this year. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he would offer a amendment to the DOT spending bill that would withhold funding for implementing the hours rules until October 2001, well into the next administration.

DOT last week released letters from labor, safety and other groups opposing the Shelby amendment.

"While the notice of proposed rulemaking may not be the proposal the safety community and others would have written, some elements of the proposal are forward looking and intended to improve motor carrier safety," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, in letter to Shelby. "This is not the time to stop or stymie the department's ability to proceed with the necessary regulatory proceeding."

The letter was also signed by representatives of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, American Insurance Association and the Trauma Foundation.