Hours 'Reg-Neg' Seen As Unlikely

Don’t look for a negotiated rulemaking on hours of service. Prospects for reforming driver hours by general consensus withered when the Transportation Department released a report June 10 that recommended against trying to bring interested parties around the table to work out a new regulation.

Negotiations were "unlikely" to produce a consensus, concluded an outside study. The study, commissioned by FHWA, instead endorsed the creation of scientific advisory panel to examine data on driver fatigue and safety management. The committee would include representatives from industry, government, safety watchdog groups, drivers, law enforcement, shippers, accident victims and insurers.

A negotiated rulemaking "is still under consideration, but for all intents and purposes it’s doubtful," said David Longo, spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety.

FHWA, in the meantime, has developed a proposal that it can take to the industry and public for comment, the tradi-tional rulemaking approach. But the report also recom-mended against that tack, unless the advisory panel, too, fails to reach consensus.

For the full story, see the June 21 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.