Three safety groups and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are suing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in federal court in an effort to rollback changes made to driver hours-of-service rules scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 29.
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT), Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), and the Teamsters filed the petition Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The petition notes that the FMCSA in August denied the group’s petition for reconsideration.
The filing will not prevent the HOS rule changes from going into effect, according to Adina Rosenbaum, a lawyer with Public Citizen, the advocacy group representing the petitioners. “Instead, when the case is over and if we succeed in our challenge, we’ll be asking the court to set aside the rule. At that point it would no longer be in effect,” Rosenbaum told FreightWaves.
The changes to HOS rules, which were finalized by FMCSA on June 1, “will further exacerbate the already well-known threat of fatigue among commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers by significantly weakening current HOS rules,” the petitioners asserted in a press statement.
“Specifically, provisions that ensured drivers receive a brief 30-minute break after being on duty for eight hours and that govern the operations of drivers who start and return to the same location and remain within a defined geographic area known as ‘short haul’ operations were significantly altered.”
They point out that in proposing the revisions, FMCSA “contradicted its own prior conclusions on these very issues and failed to undertake a proper analysis of the impacts the rule will have on truck drivers and the motoring public.”
Lael
There go the Teamsters wasting their members’ money as usual. For those of us that drive small commercial vehicles but are not full time frieight haulers, this rule change will make our lives easier. Complying with HOS rules and an ELD is a huge pain in the rear especially when you are diing other work most of the time and only drive a commercial vehicle to move from one job to another. As Parker said above, there is way more oversight than necessary.
Frank Schultz III
What needs to be done is ability to start and stop the clock at our discretion.
We are not computers and do not operate as such
Parker
This absolutely absurd. I’ve never seen an industry with so much oversight that it’s sickening. This is exactly why a lot of us guys that’s been in this industry are getting out of it. I’ve been an O/O for 16 years and being told when I can and cannot work due to what they think is safe. I wish someone would control their lives as much as they’re trying to control ours.
Mike
Look at the groups that want the laws reversed.
Has nothing to do with driver safety. Major fleets want control and the general public. Can’t accept responsibility for what thier loved ones do in a vehicle. So truckers are at fault.
Although truckers aren’t saints in any of this either
Shawn Heath
I think teamsters are foolish, as long as you’re not driving I don’t see the problem with the break being taken while on duty not driving. The purpose of the rule to start with was to secure that a driver stopped his rig and got out and moved around to get relief from the stress of sitting behind the wheel. So I don’t see the problem with the new revisions to the rule.
Chris
Make no mistake about it. It is all about money not safety. ELD is the cause for the accident rate and fatality rate to increase. No one is looking at that because is about the large carriers to control the market. FMCSA has no clue what life is great like on the road. Once the government and lawyers get ahold of someone all common sense is lost.
Allen Hale
I think this is crazy. The one good thing about the ELDs is that it shows how some of the laws don’t work. It amazes me how groups that don’t know anything about what it’s like can sue over things before they even know how it is going to work out. As for the teamsters they are so far from reality that it’s not funny anymore. At one time they played a big part of trucking, now they are fighting for stupid laws to continue. My father belonged to the union, but I think today he would just shake his head.
Ien gentry
First the 30 minute beak that makes a driver tired not rested . How come people who don’t even drive commercial trucks are making laws for men and women that do? Nobody asked me about the HOS RULE change and I’m one of the 3.5 million drivers running the highways 3,800 miles per week. Stop just looking at us for highway safety. 7 out of 10 cars that drive by me have a cellphone in there hand not paying attention. When is the DOT going start handling that problem? I’ve been out here 12 years accident free drivers like me should be included on making rules for our industry
Shannon Blakey
I’m sure if you all look at the records .the hours of service have not cut back on any wrecks say what you want to I’ve been out here too long and . people do not do the pretrips on these trucks appropriately for anyone to believe there are less wrecks