What’s Going on with Hours of Service?

We are getting that question a lot.  First, look at the changes in the new Hours of Service Rule that will become effective July 1, 2013 here:  http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/hos/HOS_Compare_new_rule_to_current.pdf  

On March 15, the three-judge US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear two opposing lawsuits regarding this rule.  On one side is the American Trucking Association.  The ATA argues that several provisions of this regulation will harm productivity, with no evidence it will improve safety. 

On the other side is a coalition of the Teamsters, Public Citizen, and CRASH.  They will argue that the driving time allowed should be lowered to 10 hours per day, and that there is a loophole in the 34 hour restart provision. 

The CVSA and the ATA have asked the Agency postpone the ruling until 3 months after the DC Court of Appeals ruling is issued.  On February 26, the Agency wrote a letter to the ATA - stating that the ATA did not demonstrate good cause to delay implementation of the rule. 

As a fleet operator – what should you do?  It seems the prudent course of action is to begin training drivers on the new rule as it stands now.  If the court changes the new rule, then you’ll need to train drivers again.  One of the best resources is the FMCSA’s web site - http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos/index.htm. 

We will keep you posted on changes as they happen – keep checking our blog and sign up for our free newsletter.  

Agency tells ATA hours compliance date will not be delayed - from CCJ

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied the American Trucking Associations’ request to postpone the compliance date for hours-of-service rule slated to be implemented July 1. ATA’s letter, from president Bill Graves, asked for the compliance date to be pushed to three months after a ruling is made in an ongoing court case between ATA and FMCSA over the rule.

In FMCSA’s response Chief Counsel Scott Darling says the agency does not “believe [ATA] demonstrated good cause to delay the compliance date of the rule” and that “mere uncertainty over the possible outcome of the litigation” did not constitute a situation in which the industry would “suffer harm” due to confusion or time lost to training.

The rule is set to go into effect July 1, and ATA is scheduled to present oral arguments against it March 15 in front of a three-judge panel in a District of Columbia appeals court. Graves said in his letter that delaying the effective date would avoid unnecessary training.

Darling says in the letter ATA’s request is more or less a request for a stay, and that Graves’ letter did not outline sufficient criteria to be granted a stay. 

Dave Osiecki, ATA’s senior VP of policy and regulatory affairs, responded to the agency’s letters, saying ATA is disappointed about the denial of the group’s request and that carriers, shippers and enforcement agencies will “have to spend time and money on training and adapting systems to a rule whose final form will not be certain until the cour tissues its decisions.”

Osiecki says that because the court date is scheduled for March 15, any delay would have likely been short, and that the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the National Industrial Transportation League and the National Association of Manufacturers all would benefit from getting a full three months after the court decision to prepare for the changes. 

Here’s the bulk of Osiecki’s statement: 

FMCSA’s denial acknowledged that the relevant question should be whether there is “good cause” for delay.  But the agency didn’t address whether avoiding confusion and waste of carrier, shipper, and Federal and State enforcement (taxpayer) dollars amounted to “good cause”.  Instead, it applied an irrelevant legal standard a court would apply if a party asked the court to order the agency to forbear—a far higher standard.  ATA went to FMCSA, rather than straight to the court, because we gave the agency the benefit of the doubt that it would treat our reasonable request in good faith. Their decision to apply irrelevant standards makes it clear that FMCSA isn’t interested in giving a fair hearing to the industry’s reasonable requests.

Free LoadTrek Training for Clients - New Hours of Service Interface

Join us for a Webinar on February 27 Web-based Hours of Service Interface Demonstration and Training Title: LoadTrek Demonstration - New Hours of Service Interface Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM CST After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/749526768

Upcoming Improvements to the LoadTrek Driver Website

Beginning March 1, 2013, drivers using the LoadTrek system will notice changes to their web site.   Every driver using LoadTrek has their own, personal web site.  It is accessed by going to http://drivers.loadtrek.net and logging in with your user ID and password.  
 

Improvements:

• Visibility to arrival and departure data
• Detailed period information
• Selectable period by period map review
• Expandable graph for increased readability

Link to the Knowledge Base Article: http://www.loadtrek.net/loadtrek_net/kbarticles/Viewing%20HOS%20Info%20Via%20Driver%20Website.pdf

WE NEED YOUR INPUT - TIMTC 2013 WEBINAR TOPICS SURVEY

The Trucking Industry Mobility and Technology (TIMTC) is preparing its 2013 webinar schedule and would like your input.  Please click here or visit www.freightmobility.org by Friday, February 22^nd to vote on the top five topics that you would be most interested in learning more about in 2013.

If you have any questions, please contact Katie Fender at 651-641-6162 or at timtc@trucking.org.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Trucking Industry Mobility and Technology Coalition

950 N. Glebe Road

Arlington, VA  22203

(703) 838-1966

Timtc@trucking.org

www.freightmobility.org

LoadTrek Education Session - New Hours of Service Interface

Join us for a Webinar on February 14

Web-based Hours of Service interface demonstration and training Title: LoadTrek Demonstration - New Hours of Service Interface Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013 Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CST After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Mac®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer Mobile attendees Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/813569977