Morgan crash is wrinkle in HOS debate

   The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary findings in a New Jersey crash that injured comedian Tracy Morgan seem to point to fatigue as the cause of the accident.
   James Hoffa, the general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said the findings show that “truck drivers are pushing beyond the limits of the current hours of service rules.”
   The findings come amid a debate in in Congress as to whether the 34-hour restart and a consecutive duty moratorium in the FMCSA’s hours of service law should be delayed by one year. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., introduced an amendment as part of the FY 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill that would suspend the rule that drivers can’t operate trucks between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. for two consecutive nights. She also wants to delay the requirement that limits the 34-hour restart to just once a week. The amendment passed through committee, and the entire appropriations bill is now being debated in the full Senate.
   To counteract the amendment, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced an amendment that would basically remove Collins’ amendment. After the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the Senate minority leader couldn’t agree on how to move the bill forward, Reid pulled Collins’ bill. It could, however, reappear down the line. The wider debate still rages on in the industry, however. When Collins’ amendment was first announced, organizations like the American Trucking Associations came out in support of delaying the hours-of-service provisions. 
   Hoffa said the NTSB’s accident findings prove that Collins’ amendment should be struck down.
   “In light of these findings,” he said, “it would be irresponsible to even consider rolling back hours of service rules and opening the door to increased driver fatigue.”