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January 2015

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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Logbook 16 | Overdrive | January 2015 President Obama on Dec. 16 signed the appropriations bill that halts enforcement of the requirement that a driver's 34-hour restart include two 1-5 a.m. periods. It also removes the once-per-week limit of the restart, giving drivers the option to reset their 60/70-hour clocks as many times as they would like each week. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Dec. 22 published a notice in the Federal Register to alert drivers and enforcers. The suspen- sion of the restart provisions put in place in July 2013 became effective immediately upon the president's sig- nature the previous week, but the law required the agency to post the notice. FMCSA says it will issue another Federal Register notice when the rules "regain their legal force and effect," which will come no later than Sept. 30, 2015, and only after the agency has completed a required study. The law requires FMCSA to perform a study of the rules and their effects on drivers, carriers and safety before they can go back into effect. The agency must present a report to Congress concluding the restart provisions would boost safety. The required pro- cess also entails approval by the Office of Inspector General. The American Trucking Associ- ations, the Owner-Operator Inde- pendent Drivers Association and the Truckload Carriers Association, along with dozens of other industry associations, supported the changes. They were contained in the Collins Amendment, sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), to the ap- propriations bill. "We have known since the begin- ning that the federal government did not properly evaluate the potential impacts of the changes it made in July 2013," said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. "Suspending these restrictions until all the proper research can be done is a reasonable step." OOIDA said the restart provisions compromise safety by dumping driv- ers out into the most congested hours of the day. Trucking research firm FTR Associates said it estimates trucking will see a 2 percent productivity jump after the restart provisions are sus- pended and the industry adjusts. Despite the industry's excitement over the changes, reverting back to the old rules will be a challenge, said Steve Keppler, head of the Commer- cial Vehicle Safety Alliance. "People can't just turn on a dime when something like this takes place," he said. "We're likely to see incon- sistency and uniformity issues for a while – that's got implications for data quality and CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability)." Electronic logging devices and other e-log applications also are pro- grammed for the 2013 rule. Updating the devices could take a few weeks, said Omnitracs' Tom Cuthbertson. Until then, e-log applications might flag drivers incorrectly for a violation. – James Jaillet Rollback on hours restart The law suspends the requirement that a driver's 34-hour restart include two 1-5 a.m. periods, pending further study and more justification. TRUCKING HELPS COVER ARLINGTON Wreaths Across America placed nearly a quarter-million wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery, for the first time covering every gravesite. The accomplishment was made pos- sible thanks to 25,000 volunteers, including fleets and owner-operators who donated their services. Similar ceremonies took place at veterans' cemeteries nationwide.

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