PrivateFleets.com

As the trucking industry is bracing for yet another revision to the hours of service rules, I believe it is important to note that private fleets will be the first to make the necessary adjustments in their operations to stay compliant. The number of private fleets that use onboard recorders for electronic logs far outnumber common carriers. They don’t leave it up to their drivers to “make up inefficiencies,” as I once heard a fleet manager say. For shippers that use private fleets, what the new HOS changes will mean are still unknown, but they will be the first to know the impact, and educate the rest of the industry on how to maximize productivity and efficiency despite the new constraints.  

On Tuesday, August 28, I listened in on a Webex presentation about possible changes to the HOS, following a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., that vacated two key parts of the current HOS regulations. These two parts are the 11-hour daily drive time and the 34-hour reset, which means that after taking 34 consecutive hours off duty, a driver can reset his 70 hours in 8 days of driving time. Rick Schweitzer, a transportation lawyer and general council to the National Private Truck Council (NPTC), gave the presentation.

The current HOS rules were enacted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in 2005, following months of legal battles with Public Citizen, a clueless safety advocacy group directed by, you guessed it, Ralph Nader himself.

Schweitzer said that the court’s recent decision will not be put into effect for at least 45 days. The court will most likely issue a mandate on September 7, 2007, that will require the FMCSA to comply with the ruling within seven days. If no further legal action happens by September 14, therefore, motor carriers will no longer have a 34-hour reset or an 11-hour driving limit.

The court ruling vacated these rules, but it did not require the FMCSA to reinsert a prior version of its HOS rules, nor did the ruling order the agency to issue any replacement rules. If the FMCSA does nothing in response, drivers can legally drive for up to 14 hours after September 14.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Schweitzer said. To date, the agency has issued no statement or guidance on what replacement rules it may or may not put into effect to satisfy the court’s ruling. Schweitzer expects the agency will issue a guidance by Labor Day, September 3.

Will the FMCSA revert back to its previous 10-hour daily driving limit? Will there be no daily limit? Right now the answer is anyone’s best guess.

“Once a rule is vacated by the court, you do not automatically revert back,” Schweitzer said. He went on to say that he believes the FMCSA will restate the 10-hour daily driving limit and keep the 14-hour daily on duty limit in tact. As for the 34-hour reset, Schweitzer says it is very likely that come September 14, it will be gone.

“I wouldn’t say gone for good, but at least temporarily,” he said. With Congress controlled by a Democrat majority, it is highly unlikely that Congress will come to the rescue of FMCSA, which is controlled by a Republican White House, to allow the agency to continue with the status quo.

The transportation industry has come to expect that the status quo for HOS will never be the same. I expect that once again, private fleets will lead the way in adapting to the changes, whatever they may be, without compromising their service and performance.