Instructor Certification Program
Appeals court denies motion to invalidate interim hours rule
By CCJ Staff
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit on Thursday, Jan. 24, issued an order denying Public Citizen’s request
to invalidate the recently issued hours-of-service Interim Final Rule.
The decision means that the 11-hour daily driving time limit and 34-hour restart
provision will remain in place pending further consideration of a final HOS rule
by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Public Citizen claimed that the court’s prior decisions in the case effectively
prohibited FMCSA from issuing an IFR that included the 11- and 34-hour
provisions.
The American Trucking Associations, FMCSA and shipper interests all filed briefs
opposing Public Citizen's motion. Those filings argued the need for retention of
the 11- and 34-hour provisions in an IFR to avoid significant disruptions to the
industry and to law enforcement, as well as the safety gains achieved under the
current HOS rules.
The court did note that its denial of the motion did not preclude Public Citizen
from challenging the IFR in a separate legal proceeding. However, such a
proceeding potentially would take many months to pursue, even if expedited, with
a final HOS rule likely to be issued before the litigation could be completed.
ATA said it was pleased with the court's decision, saying the ruling confirms
its view that the court’s prior concerns with the 11- and 34-hour provisions
were only procedural in nature and that the court does not view those provisions
as inherently unsafe.
“Government and industry safety data clearly indicate that the current rules are
working in terms of driver health, truck safety and overall highway safety,”
said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. “The rules have
been in force for four years, and safety has improved over this time period.”
Under the IFR made public Dec. 11, truck drivers will continue to be limited to
driving only 11 hours within a 14-hour duty period, after which they must go off
duty for at least 10 hours. The IFR also retains the provision of the hours
rules that allows drivers to restart their cumulative on-duty limits by taking
34 consecutive hours off duty.
Comments on the IFR must be filed with FMCSA no later than Feb. 15. FMCSA also
is seeking comment on its methodology and on safety data that was not available
when the agency issued its most recent version of the rules in 2005.
The agency issued the new hours-of-service rule in response to the decision by
the D.C. appeals court vacating those two key provisions of the existing rules.
The IFR took effect Dec. 27 -- the same day that a stay granted by the appeals
court expired. In order to ensure no gap in coverage of the rules, the IFR
temporarily reinstated those two provisions while the agency gathered public
comment on its actions and the underlying safety analysis before issuing a final
rule.
In its July opinion, the court voided the 11 hours of driving and the 34-hour
restart on the grounds that the public didn't have adequate notice of FMCSA's
methodology for analyzing crash risk. The IFR was developed after new data
showed that safety levels have been maintained since the 11-hour driving limit
was first implemented in 2003, FMCSA said.
After the IFR became effective Dec. 27, a 60-day period began for the public to
comment on the proposal and its underlying safety analysis. Further analysis
after that could take “a few weeks or even a few months,” according to FMCSA
Administrator John Hill. Once a final rule has been established, FMCSA will
review longstanding concerns from drivers and carriers over the provision that
restricts the sleeper berth split to eight-hour and two-hour periods, Hill said.
FMCSA also is working to finalize a proposed rule that would require drivers and
trucking companies with serious or repeat hours-of-service violations to track
their hours of service using electronic onboard recorders.
