Hours of Service Rules Changed With Signing of Congressional Funding Bill

A part of the spending bill recently approved by Congress and signed into law by the President will give truck drivers relief from two hours of service rules that are widely accepted as being a hindrance to truck driver productivity. Relief from the mandatory 34 hour restart, and more specifically the relief from the 1AM to 5AM rest period, and the 168 hour rule are now temporarily suspended. The funding bill did not suspend the mandatory 30 minute break period, however. This change will allow the hours of service rules to revert back to what was in place prior to the change on July 1, 2013. 

Another part of the funding bill is a requirement that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) studies the impact that the rule changes have on safety, drivers and carriers. The FMCSA is required to study two groups of drivers - one group prior to the rules changes implemented on July 1, 2013, and one group studied after the changes were implemented - and according to wording in the bill, the groups studied are to be "each large enough to produce statistically significant results." Additionally, before the 2013 restart rules can be implemented again, the agency must present a report to Congress that concludes enforcing these rules will increase safety. 

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