Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/175761
REGULATORY CORNER New Driver Hours of Service Rules go into Effect July 1, 2013 Mark S. Morgan, PMAA Regulatory Counsel Washington, D.C, - After years of litigation and regulatory changes the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) new hours of service (HOS) requirements for CDL drivers becomes effective July 1, 2013. The new HOS regulations have been under constant legal assault both before and since the changes were issued in the FMCSA's final rule back in December, 2011. The legal challenges were well deserved as the underlying evidence required to justify the HOS changes was lacking to say the least. The latest legal challenge to the rule was launched back in March. Many thought that the ongoing litigation would force the embattled FMCSA to extend the compliance deadline given the strong possibility that federal judges would throw the rule out or at least require major changes. The FMCSA recently dashed those hopes by saying it would not delay compliance while a three judge panel of The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decides on a legal challenge to overturn the rule filed by the American Trucking Associations. In a characteristically bureaucratic response to a request for a deadline extension the FMCSA said that "the mere uncertainty over the possible outcome of the litigation did not constitute a situation in which truckers would suffer harm due to confusion or time lost to training." It would be interesting to know how the FMCSA came up with that conclusion; certainly not by considering the real world consequences that such regulatory uncertainty would have on petroleum marketers and other small business trucking interests. Now that the July deadline is pretty much affirmed barring Congressional action or an unusually speedy court decision – neither of which are expected – petroleum marketers must make sure drivers understand the new HOS requirements and decide how to manage the probable loss of driver productivity. The good news is that the final rule did not reduce the 11-hour daily maximum period a driver is allowed to spend behind the wheel. Drivers may still drive 11-hours 20 OIL PROPHETS SUMMER 2013 maximum in a day after 10 consecutive hours off duty. The FMCSA considered reducing the daily maximum driving time to just 10-hours but did not include the change in the final rule. Also left unchanged is the daily 14-hour maximum "driving window" beyond which a driver may not drive without 10 consecutive hours off. Drivers are allowed to perform non-driving duties after the 14-hour driving window. However, working after the 14-hour driving window is considered "on duty" and thus applies to the 60/70 maximum on duty hours over a 7/8 day period and when the mandatory 10-hour rest period between daily shifts begins and ends. The new HOS rule leaves intact the 100-air mile exemption from keeping written log books. Drivers taking advantage of the written log book exemption are still limited to a maximum of 12 hours "on duty" time each day. Overall, the new requirements for driver break periods and restart provision will effectively reduce the total number of hours that drivers are available to get behind the wheel. The final HOS rule will make the following changes as of July 1, 2013: 30-Minute Mandatory Breaks Drivers may not drive after 8 consecutive hours on duty without a 30-minute break. A lunch break will satisfy this requirement in most cases. The 30-minute break must be counted as part of the driver's 14-hour on duty period. Waiting in line at a terminal does not count towards the 30minute break. For drivers using log books, the 30-minute break must be logged as "off-duty." 34-Hour Restart Provision The new rule reduces limits when and how often a driver can "restart" the work week. The new rule requires the restart period to include two periods between 1:00 am to