A Summary of the new US Hours of Service Rules Changes – As Approved by the DC Court of Appeals

  1. “On-Duty” definition is changed to exclude any time resting in a parked commercial motor vehicle. This change permits a day-cab driver to take a break in the cab without having to log the time as “on-duty”. If the driver is doing any work, he/she must still log it “on duty” as before.This change permits sleeper team drivers to spend up to 2 hours in the passenger seat logged off duty – if immediately before or after an 8 hour sleeper berth period.Loading and unloading can still be logged as off duty if the driver is relieved from all duties and responsibilities of the vehicle and its cargo.We recommend that off duty breaks, whether at a loading facility, unloading facility, or break stop, be clearly identified as such and made a part of the driver’s route instructions.
  2. Required Break after 8 hours on-duty. A driver must take a break of at least 30 minutes after 8 consecutive hours on-duty – not just 8 hours of driving. Thus, the 14 hours work window in a tour of duty contains 13.5 hours of actual work time. This does not apply to drivers who are not required to complete a Record of Duty Status, local drivers operating within a 100 mile radius.
  3. The 34 hour restart is kept, but in a different form and with limitations. A 34 hour restart may be taken once every 168 hours.The 34 hours off must include 2 period between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. If a driver starts a restart at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday, he/she would not be credited with completing it until 5:00 a.m. on Monday – 47 hours later. You must start your 34 hours by 7:00 p.m. to reset in 34 hours.
  4. The current 14 hour work window is unchanged. The mandated 30 minute break reduces the time on-duty or driving to a maximum 13.5 hours during the work day.
  5. Sleeper team drivers can continue using the 8 hour “sleeper berth provision”. A co-driver can now spend two of his/her 10 hours required sleeper berth time in the passenger seat, immediately before or after an 8 hour sleeper berth break.
  6. Driving 3 hours or more beyond any limits is considered an egregious violation, and subject to maximum penalties.

The complete Hours of Service rule can be found here.

New US Hours of Service Regulations are Mostly Upheld by Federal Appeals Court

On August 2 the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most, but not all, of the new Hours of Service Regulations put into place July 1, 2013.

The court upheld the 34 hour restart provision and the 30 minute rest break mandate. The court vacated the 30 minute rest break for local drivers as defined under 49 CFR 395.1(e). Short haul drivers under this provision operate within a 100 mile radius of their normal work reporting location – 150 miles for non-CDL drivers. This change will become official once the FMCSA publishes the exemption in the Federal Register.

The court agreed with one of the American Trucking Association’s arguments that short haul drivers should not be compelled to comply with the 30 minute break provision – and the court vacated only that portion of the new regulation. The court denied all other arguments by the ATA.

The court also denied Public Citizen’s argument to reduce allowable driving time. The court found no merit in Public Citizen’s request to eliminate the 34 hour restart provision and reduce allowed driving time from 11 hours to 10 hours. The court rejected all of Public Citizen’s claims.

The court identified several flaws in the FMCSA’s justification for the new regulations. However, it refused to “second guess” the Agency’s interpretation of available evidence. It took a “highly deferential” approach to the Agency’s expertise. This means that the court assumed the Agency’s decision is presumed valid and rational. It presumes that highly technical points are best left to the Agency. The court indicated that the Agency implemented unwise policy decisions, but did not find that the Agency acted illegally or irrationally. Government lawyers argued to the court that the trucking industry’s objections to HOS rule changes were nothing more than “simple scientific disputes” and that the court should defer to the government’s judgment in solving such disputes.

The court was clearly fatigued by continual legal challenges to the Hours of Service regulation since 1999, something that Judge Janice Rogers Brown called “protracted rulemaking”.

Judge Brown stated “With one small exception, our decision today brings to an end much of the permanent warfare surrounding the HOS rules. FMCSA won the day not on the strengths of its rulemaking prowess, but through an artless war of attrition, the controversies of this round are ended.”

“While we are disappointed the Court chose to give unlimited deference to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s agenda-driving rulemaking, the striking down of the short-haul break provision is an important victory. The court recognized on numerous occasions the shortcomings of the agency’s deliberations, so despite upholding most of the rule, we hope this opinion will serve as a warning to FMCSA not to rely on similarly unsubstantiated rulemakings in the future” said Dave Osiecki, ATA Senior Vice President.

What do you do now? Some of us have worked hard to analyze financial and safety data, creating positions, interviewing drivers, and drafting arguments. We are clearly disappointed, but we learned during this process. We know capacity will shrink, shipping schedules will become less flexible, and driver’s ability to earn will diminish.

Fleet operators are looking at rates, costs, and making adjustments to rates and operations. Now that we know we have an Hours of Service regulation we must live with – it might be a good time to reconsider all of your rates, terms, and conditions. We drafted a formal response in the Federal Register that includes a financial analysis. If you’d like a copy of this document, contact us.