FMCSA Nixes OOIDA Bid to Amend Hours Rule

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he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied a petition by a major drivers’ group to amend the sleeper-berth provision of its new hours-of-service rules.

As a result, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said last week it planned to file a lawsuit against FMCSA over the sleeper-berth provision, which opens the door to other legal challenges.

“We’d like to see the issue resolved,” Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice president, told Transport Topics Jan. 4. “I hope it will take place within the next couple of weeks.”

FMCSA’s new rules, published in August, allow drivers to work for 14 straight hours but require they take 10 consecutive hours off. Drivers taking off-duty time in the sleeper berth can divide off-duty time into two periods, provided one is at least eight hours long.

(Click here for previous coverage.)

For the full story, see the Jan. 9 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.