Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/58364
For the Record Safety groups sue over hours-of-service rule H from STAFF REPORTS ighway safety groups along with two unidentified truck drivers on Feb. 24 filed suit seeking judicial review of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis- tration's most recent hours-of-service rule. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen and the Truck Safety Coalition object to FMCSA not reducing the driving day to 10 hours from 11 and not eliminating the 34-hour restart provision, the groups said in a statement. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit. FMCSA "had no data to support" increasing truck driving time to 11 hours in 2004, from the previ- ous 10 hours, the groups said. "Given the FMCSA's mission to prevent truck-related deaths and injuries, it is appalling that the agency issued yet another rule that fails to adequately address truck driver fatigue and puts the public's safety at risk, " said Henry Jasny, vice president and general counsel for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, in a statement. The groups said FMCSA's Dec. 22 final rule doesn't prevent "the most fatigued drivers, those who work on a schedule of 70 hours of driving in eight days, from continually using the short and unacceptable 34-hour restart every week, or being required to do so by their trucking company." Compliance for the rest break and 34-hour restart provisions will take effect July 1, 2013. Previously, the groups and the Teamsters union FYI | SHELL ROTELLA SUPERRIGS CONTEST SET | More than $30,000 in cash and prizes will be on the line at Shell Rotella SuperRigs' 30th anniversary competition May 17-19 at the Speedco in Joplin, Mo. Owner-operators will compete for cash and prizes. Additionally, 12 driv- ers' trucks will be featured in the 2013 Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar. | FREIGHTLINER LAUNCHES 70TH ANNIVERSARY SITE | Freightliner Trucks has launched a new web- site, http://www.freightlinertrucks. com/70years, to kick off its 70th anniversary celebration. The site provides a look at Freightliner's legacy of innovation with a detailed timeline that showcases the company's products and technological milestones. 12 | TRUCKERS NEWS | APRIL 2012 had filed suit against FMCSA challenging the 2009 HOS rule. The two sides agreed to a settlement when FMCSA issued the new rule and the suit was dismissed. The new suit marks the second challenge to the revised rule in less than two weeks. In a Feb. 14 suit in the same court, the American Trucking Associations found fault with the 34-hour restart provision that requires two early morning periods and can be used only once a week. ATA also objects to a requirement of a 30-minute rest break within eight hours of driving. | THREE STATES JOIN TOLLING PROGRAM | The Federal Highway Administration on Feb. 17 named North Carolina as the last of three states to participate in a program with authority to charge tolls on interstates. North Carolina joins Virginia and Missouri as states with federal approval to pursue interstate tolling. North Carolina and Virginia will devise plans for tolling Interstate 95, while Missouri is consid- ering tolls on the entire 250 miles of Interstate 70 within its borders. | FMCSA ONLINE HOS HANDBOOK | The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis- tration has produced an online handbook, http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/ hos/logbook.pdf, showing 30 examples of the new hours-of-service rules. Most of the examples include both the effec- tive and compliance dates for different provisions of the rules. If violations are illustrated, explanations are offered. | MORE CROSS-BORDER CARRIERS SOUGHT | Concerned the cross-border trucking program hasn't attracted enough Mexican trucking firms, U.S. Department of Transportation officials are urging more carriers to apply. While 21 Mexican companies have applied to join the program, according to a DOT Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra- tion official, only two have been cleared to operate and a third carrier has been found to violate U.S. leasing laws. | RIGDIG NAMED AWARD FINALIST | Truck information service RigDig's Truck History Reports was one of six finalists for the top technical achievement of 2011 awarded by the Truck Writers of North COURTESY OF JJ KELLER AND ASSOCIATES c ontinued on page 6 7