Hours-of-Service Revision Due by End of April, DOT Says

With the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration preparing to issue its long-awaited update of the hours-of-service regulations, a senior agency official confirmed some details of what changes the proposal is likely to contain.

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Rumors and speculation of the content of revised rules have been circulating for more than a year, and now the word is the Office of Management and Budget is close to completing its review of the proposal. Department of Transportation officials are said to be gearing up for the official unveiling of the new hours-of-service regulations no later than April 28.

There will be specific proposals for five different types of drivers: long-haul drivers spending at least three consecutive nights on the road; regional drivers; local drivers working split shifts; local package and people who drive trucks as part of other jobs, John Grimm, FMCSA director of data analysis and information systems said in a remarks to the Edison Electric Institute's fleet committee in Washington, April 11.

In a separate speech to fleet safety directors in Philadelphia a day earlier, an American Trucking Associations executive gave his best guess of what the rest of the proposed rule might look like.

For the full story, see the Apr. 17 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.