Group Slams Revised HOS Rule as Nearly Identical to the Last

he lead group challenging the federal government’s new truck driver work rule told an appeals court that the revised version was so similar to the rule courts already have rejected that the current incarnation should also be invalidated.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued its first attempted revision of the 60-year-old hours-of-service regulation in April 2003. The revision expanded the allowable driving time to 11 hours from 10 hours and trimmed the permitted workday to 14 consecutive hours from 15 hours.

“FMCSA’s justifications for expanding driving hours are as inadequate today as they were two years ago, and the rule again should be set aside,” the Public Citizen-led group argued. “The record establishes overwhelmingly that such staggering workloads subvert highway safety and imperil drivers’ health.”