Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Revision of hours of service rule gets postponed again - to December


Byline: Jami Jones, Land Line senior editor

The long-awaited, much debated, yet still unknown, hours-of-service regulations will be unveiled within the next 30 days according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

That revelation came in the latest court filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The final hours-of-service regulation is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget. In the Nov. 28 court filing, the agency states that it expects to issue the final rule within the next 30 days – which could wind up being around Christmas or New Year’s. This would be the second time the agency has unveiled HOS regs right around Christmas in as many years. The proposed HOS regs were released on Dec. 23, 2010.

The latest filing is a joint motion to govern further proceedings filed by FMCSA, along with plaintiffs Public Citizen, Teamsters, Advocates for Highway Safety and Truck Safety Coalition. The motion asks that the pending court case remain in “abeyance” for 45 more days. In essence, the motion requests to keep the case on hold until the final regulations are released.

The filing does not give any indication as to what, if any, changes are included in the final regulation.

While the rule is at OMB, it is not available to public view or inspection. The only information provided to the public is:

“This rulemaking would propose changes to the hours of service requirements for drivers operating a commercial motor vehicle transporting property. The requirement for this rulemaking was established on Oct. 26, 2009, when Public Citizen et al. (petitioners) and FMCSA entered into a settlement agreement under which petitioners´ petition for judicial review of the Nov. 19, 2008, final rule on drivers´ hours of service will be held in abeyance pending the publication of an NPRM reevaluating the hours of service rule.”

Lawmakers and industry groups alike have pushed FMCSA not to modify the current hours of service. A Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending Subcommittee hearing scheduled for Nov. 30 will likely hear more of the same, considering the hearing is titled “The price of uncertainty: How much could department of transportation’s proposed billion dollar service rule cost consumers this holiday season?”

The regulation is on a short list of regulations under consideration in the Obama administration that will cost $1 billion or more. Rep. John Boehner, R-OH, requested the list. In a letter to Boehner, the administration identified the hours-of-service regulations as having an annual cost of $1 billion. That placed HOS seventh on a list of seven pending regs.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Nation's 20 Most Congested Corridors


Top 20 most congested corridors overall:

1.        Los Angeles Harbor Fwy/CA-110 from I-10/Santa Monica Fwy to Stadium Way/Exit 24C
2.        Los Angeles Harbor Fwy/I-110 from 111th Pl. to I-110/I-10/Santa Monica Fwy
3.        Los Angeles San Diego Fwy/I-405 from I-105/Imperial Hwy. to Getty Center Dr.
4.        New York Van Wyck Expy/I-678 from Belt Pkwy./Exit 1 to Main St./Exit 8
5.        Los Angeles San Gabriel River Fwy/I-605 from Beverly Blvd. to Florence Ave.
6.        Los Angeles Santa Monica Fwy/I-10 from CA-1/Lincoln Blvd./Exit 1B to Alameda St.
7.        Los Angeles Santa Monica Fwy/I-10 from I-5/Golden State Fwy. to National Blvd.
8.        San Francisco I-80 from (James Lick Fwy/Bay Brdg) US-101 to Treasure Island Rd.
9.        San Francisco Grove Shafter Fwy/CA-24 from Saint Stephens Dr. to Caldecott Tunnel
10.     Los Angeles I-110 from W Vernon Ave. to 51st St.
11.     New York I-278 (Gowanus Expy/Brooklyn Queens) from 92nd St./Exit 17 to Apollo St./Meeker Ave./Exit 34
12.     Los Angeles Riverside Fwy/CA-91 from CA-55/Costa Mesa Fwy. to Mckinley St.
13.     New York I-278 (Brooklyn Queens/Gowanus Expy) from NY-25A/Northern Blvd/Exit 41 to NY-27/Prospect Expy/Exit 24
14.     Austin I-35 from US-183/Exit 239-240 to  Woodland Ave.
15.     San Francisco Eastshore Fwy/I-80 EB/I-580 from Cypress St. to University Ave.
16.     Austin I-35 from Shelby Ln/St Elmo Rd/Exit 230 to Martin Luther King Blvd/19th St/Exit 235
17.     Los Angeles CA-110 (Pasadena/Harbor Fwys) from Avenue 60 to Olympic Blvd/9th St.
18.     Los Angeles I-5 (Santa Ana/Golden St. Fwys) from East Ceasar Chavez Ave. to Valley View Ave.
19.     New York Van Wyck Expy/I-678 from Horace Harding Expy/Exit 12A to Linden Blvd/Exit 3
20.     San Francisco Eastshore Fwy/I-80 /I-580 from Cutting Blvd. to Bay Bridge Toll Plaza

Monday, November 14, 2011

Did You Attend the NSRMCA Regional Meeting in Memphis?

LoadTrek was there, and the attendees were able to better ascertain the direction of the USPS regarding their Highway Contractors. 

We have the presentation given by USPS headquarters at this meeting.  Contact us to receive a copy. 

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