ATA asks FMCSA to back off of the HOS proposal after new data was released

The new hours of service (HOS) proposal by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has faced stiff scrutiny from the trucking industry from what some experts say is an unfair practice for drivers and companies. The plan is to reduce the number of hours operators are allowed to work in a 24-hour period and throughout the week in an effort to promote trucking safety.

Officials from the American Trucking Associations recently contacted the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the FMCSA to abandon these changes to the HOS rules after the release of information outlining how safe the industry is without the new regulations.

The DOT recently released data showing that truck-involved fatalities fell to 1.17 per 100 million miles traveled. The ATA claims that the current hours of service are sufficient and that focusing more on other proposals such as requiring all vehicles have electronic onboard recorders may help these numbers even more.

"FMCSA's own Compliance Safety Accountability program data shows a strong correlation between compliance with the existing hours of service rules and trucking company safety performance," said Bill Graves, president and CEO of the ATA. "FMCSA should move forward with its proposed requirement for electronic logs and focus on ensuring all carriers follow the rules."

By Andie Martin

ATA asks FMCSA to back off of the HOS proposal after new data was released

Thursday, April 14th, 2011