US Court of Appeals rules on Hours of Service

Washington–July, 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision on Hours of Service (HOS) choosing to vacate the 11-hour daily driving time and the 34-hour restart provisions of the regulations issued in August of 2005, leaving the rest of the current rule in place.

The court’s decision will not become effective for at least 52 days, which means that the 11-hour limit and 34-hour restart stay in place for at least that time frame.

The court concluded that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it failed to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the methodology of the crash-risk model that the agency used to justify an increase in the maximum number of daily and weekly hours that truck drivers may drive and work. The court also found that the agency failed to provide an explanation for critical elements of that methodology.

Regarding the split sleeper-berth provision of the rule, the court denied the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s petition and dismissed the three arguments that OOIDA and the interveners raised regarding the split-sleeper berth.

By court rule, FMCSA has 45 days to petition for reconsideration. After that time and within seven days, the court’s mandate will stand. In addition to possibly seeking reconsideration, which is seldom granted, the parties involved can seek a stay of the mandate to keep the current provisions in place pending the remand and further agency action.

FMCSA issued a statement in response. “We are analyzing the decision issued today to understand the court’s findings as well as determine the agency’s next steps to prevent driver fatigue, ensure safe and efficient motor carrier operations and save lives,“ it read. “This decision does not go into effect until September 14, unless the court orders otherwise.”

At this juncture, the American Trucking Associations intends to seek a stay from the court that would allow the 11-hour daily drive time and 34-hour restart to remain in place until the agency can reevaluate these regulations.

This is the second rule vacated, at least in part, by the court. A Final Rule released in 2003 was thrown out by the same court after numerous safety advocacy groups challenged it.

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