FMCSA Sets ‘Listening Sessions’ for HOS Rules

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Monday it will hold four “listening sessions” this month in various locations around the country to gather information and public comment on truck driver house of service rules.

FMCSA said it wants to hear about topics such as rest and on-duty time, sleeper berth use and the effect the current hours-of-service rule has on loading and unloading times for drivers. A record of the listening sessions will be placed in a public docket in an eventual rulemaking.

Last October FMCSA reached an agreement with a Public Citizen-led coalition of interest groups to review and revise its hours rule. Under the agreement, the agency must send a new proposal to the White House by July and publish a new final rule in 2011.

“Public input is critical to the rulemaking process,” FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro said in a statement. “The public listening sessions will provide opportunities for a broad cross-section of stakeholders to present views, comments and relevant research on this forthcoming federal safety regulation proposal.”

DOT has scheduled the following three sessions and said it plans to hold a fourth, to be announced. The three are set for:

Tuesday, Jan. 19
Doubletree Hotel Crystal City National Airport
300 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, VA 22202
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST

Friday, Jan. 22
Hyatt Regency Dallas Forth Worth Airport
DFW International Parkway
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX 75261
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. CST

Monday, Jan. 25, 2010
Doubletree Hotel Los Angeles International Airport
1985 East Grand Avenue
El Segundo, CA 90245
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. PST

For more information on the listening sessions, including several questions on possible alternatives to the current HOS requirements, visit the FMCSA website at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Interested persons may also contact David Miller, Office of Policy Plans and Regulation, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, (202) 366-5011.