New Driver Hours of Service Rule Delayed
It appears we won’t have a new proposed Hours of Service (HOS) rule published as soon as expected.
After meeting with representatives from a variety of business associations including the National Retail Federation, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has extended its review of the proposed HOS rule for an additional 30 days.
After submitting the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the OMB on July 26, the FMCSA had originally expected a publication date between October 26 and November 4 - thus allowing public comment until as late as January 4, 2011.
It's expected that we'll see a publication date by the end of this month - possibly on November 26. FMCSA Administrator Ann Ferro, on November 8, in reference to the new proposed rule's publication date stated, “I think it will be sometime in November. That’s what we’re looking for.” Ferro declined to comment about any specifics of the new proposed rule.
The original OMB deadline for a new HOS proposed rule was part of a settlement agreement on October 26, 2009 between FMCSA and Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Truck Safety Coalition and the Teamsters union. Under that agreement, a final rule would be published by July 26, 2011.
Although we have no insight as to what the FMCSA is proposing for HOS, it’s widely speculated that the number of hours allowed to drive in a day will drop from 11 to 10, and the “34-hour restart” will increase to between 44-48 hours.
Once OMB signs off on the regulation, it will then be published in the Federal Register. That will be the first time the public will get full disclosure of the FMCSA’s plan regarding any changes to the current HOS regulations.
Click here for more information on the backdrop of the settlement agreement and the consideration of changes to the current HOS regulations.
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