The hours-of-service restart rules for truck drivers likely will remain suspended through February, a few months longer than expected.
An update by trucking regulators on the status of a congressionally mandated study of the restart rules indicated that the completed study likely will reach Congress by mid-February, instead of next month.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokesman Duane DeBruyne told Transport Topics on Nov. 19 that the agency will provide the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General its review of the restart rules in mid-December.
“The statute provides the [OIG] 60 days to conduct its review,” DeBruyne said.
That means OIG has until mid-February to finalize its review of the study.
The study is to address whether the rule has safety benefits and is better for drivers in terms of fatigue, health and work schedules. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which was contracted by the agency, spent five months collecting data for the study.
Earlier this year, the office of the secretary of transportation had told TT the restart study was due to arrive at OIG by Oct. 12, and not December. Then, the secretary’s office said, the final report on the restart rule was due to Congress on Dec. 11.
The restart rules are required to remain suspended until a final study is presented to Congress, according to a fiscal 2015 funding law enacted in December 2014. That law suspended FMCSA’s rule requiring truck drivers to take off two consecutive periods of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. during a 34-hour restart.
Truckers still have to adhere to HOS regulations set prior to July 2013.
