Trucking industry celebrates suspension of 34-hour restart rule

Congress included language rolling back the HOS rule in the omnibus spending bill it passed Saturday night.    The motor carrier industry scored a major legislative victory this weekend when the Senate voted to hit the pause button on a federal anti-fatigue rule that limits the weekly time behind the wheel for drivers, a rule that trucking companies argue hurts business without improving safety.
   The amendment, pushed by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, was included in the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that rolled up 11 different spending bills into one to avoid another potential government shutdown. Funding is included for the Department of Transportation, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. The bill, which passed the House on Thursday, now goes to President Obama to be signed into law.
   The hours-of-service amendment suspends through the end of the fiscal year the two-day weekend off-duty requirement, designed to give drivers an adequate rest break, and instructs the DOT to initiate a study of the rule’s impact and effectiveness. Under revised hours-of-service rules that were implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in July 2013, drivers who reach their 70-hour weekly driving limit must restart the clock on their work week by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. The “restart” period must include two periods that run from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., which adds extra hours to the wait for drivers that go off-duty early on their last day. The FMCSA reasoned that a driver’s 24-hour body clock requires two nights’ rest for drivers to function safely, but the trucking industry questions the scientific basis of that assertion.
   The Collins amendment also lifts the restriction on using the restart more than once every week.
   Trucking industry officials say the rules’ rest periods are not flexible enough for drivers that rest 34 hours and are ready to hit the road, forcing drivers on the road during peak morning travel on Mondays when congestion is high. The longer break limits productivity, which forces shippers to experience delivery delays or carriers to spend on more drivers and equipment.
   The American Trucking Associations has worked for more than a year to get the 34-hour restart provision stopped and reevaluated. It objected to the FMCSA’s decision to implement the rule before it had completed a scientific study on the benefits of the rule change, as required under the MAP-21 transportation reauthorization bill, and before the Government Accountability Office had completed an analysis of the data and rationale used by the DOT for its decision. The ATA’s research arm last year reported that the new “restart” rules would cost the industry $376 million per year rather than the $133 million net benefit estimated by the FMCSA.
   The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has also lobbied to change the hours-of-service rules. 
   Last summer, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Collins amendment as part of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill that never made it to a final Senate vote and became part of the omnibus bill.
   The Collins amendment doesn’t permanently repeal the 34-hour restart provisions, nor does it touch the HOS’ 30-minute rest requirement or the 11-hour maximum daily driver shift.
   “We have known since the beginning that the federal government did not properly evaluate the potential impacts of the changes it made in July 2013,” ATA President Bill Graves said in a statement. “Now, thanks to the hard work of Senator Collins and many others, we have a common-sense solution. Suspending these restrictions until all the proper research can be done is a reasonable step.
   “One of our members told us several of his drivers took four days off for the recent Thanksgiving holiday, yet when they returned to work, their hours were limited because that 96-hour break could not count as a 34-hour restart,” Graves said. “That’s just one of the impacts FMCSA failed to research that we hope they fully examine as a result of this congressional mandate.”
   The suspension is expected to go into effect immediately after President Obama signs the legislation. Obama has said he supports the bill.
   Republicans used their majority in the House and leverage associated with their upcoming control of the Senate next session to push through several non-budgetary changes that angered Democrats, including rolling back regulations on Wall Street under the Dodd-Frank legislation and loosening campaign donation limits. Highway safety groups and unions complained about the proposed change to the HOS rules.
   The omnibus legislation also funded the Army Corps of Engineers construction account for waterways infrastructure by $514.5 million more than the Obama administration requested, including $112 million in additional funding for Inland Waterways Trust Fund projects.
   The funding is based on policy changes in the Water Resources Reform & Development Act that was enacted earlier this year. The omnibus also provides $1.1 billion from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, $100 million above the previous year, for upkeep of seaport navigation channels. Overall, the Army Corps’ Civil Works account swelled $921 million, while its Operations & Maintenance account grew $47.5 million. The money is expected to be used to upgrade aging infrastructure on inland waterways.