Appropriations bill will rollback HOS restart rule

Congress unveiled Wednesday night a bill that includes a provision to suspend some aspects of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours of service regulations.    Congress unveiled Wednesday night an appropriations bill that includes a provision suspending some aspects of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours of service regulations.
   If passed, the FMCSA’s 34-hour restart provisions for truck drivers would be suspended.
   The language, first introduced by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has received numerous objections from a number of trucking safety groups, members of Congress and regulators. The American Trucking Associations recently backed the rollback.
   According to Politico, the bill is expected to pass Thursday with the HOS rider attached.
   Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., argued Monday that “the suspension of the rules could force tired truckers to stay on the road longer periods, impairing the safety and well-being of the public.
   However, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association applauded the Senate and House appropriations committees for their support in maintaining language in the final fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill that would set aside the current version of the 34-hour restart rule in hours-of-service regulations.
   “We urge members in both chambers to support this legislation in a final vote in the coming days,” said OOIDA executive vice president Todd Spencer in a statement.
   “Small business truckers know from personal experience that current restart restrictions compromise safety by forcing them onto the roads during the most congested and dangerous hours of morning traffic,” he added.