Federal regulators last week waived the rest-break provision of the new hours-of-service rule for truck drivers carrying live animals and also plan to change their guidance on what counts as “off-duty time.”

The new federal hours-of-service rule for truck drivers took full effect Monday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced.

The federal government’s changes to the hours-of-service rules are set to begin July 1, despite continued objections from the trucking industry.

WASHINGTON — Trucking industry officials made a last-ditch plea to Congress to stop implementation of changes to the hours-of-service rule scheduled to take effect July 1 until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows those would improve highway safety.

We are a week away from what we believe will turn out to be a monumental foul-up by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in regard to the government’s hours-of-service regulation.

The federal government has grossly overstated the financial benefits of changes to the 34-hour restart provision in the hours-of-service rule, and they will actually cost fleets $189 million a year, according to a new study by the American Transportation Research Institute.

The federal hours-of-service rule’s July 1 implementation date should be postponed until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration completes mandated research on the rule, American Transportation Research Institute Chairman Steve Williams told a House panel Tuesday.

Upcoming restrictions to the 34-hour restart provision of the hours-of-service rule for truck drivers will cost the trucking industry $189 million annually — a $322 million difference from the $133 million benefit that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated when it wrote the new restrictions, according to a new American Transportation Research Institute study.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a “visor card” outlining the changes to truck driver hours-of-service regulations set to take effect July 1.

A panel of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hear next week from supporters and critics of the latest changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service rule for truck drivers, which is set to take effect in three weeks.