FMCSA Files New Driver Rule as Congress Fails to Codify HOS

he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has sent a new version of its truck-driver hours-of-service regulation to the White House budget office for review, and trucking representatives said the reworked rule could be published soon.

FMCSA representatives refused to comment on how the agency’s latest proposal was different from its 2003 rewrite of the more than 60-years-old driver-hours rule. However, in its newest revision, the agency was expected to address concerns raised by a federal court when it vacated the earlier revised rule last year.

In July 2004, a federal appeals court overturned the federal truck-safety agency’s revised rule on the grounds that it failed to consider driver health.