The new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) hours-of-service (HOS) regulation has been ruled arbitrary and capricious by the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, according to court information. The HOS rule went into effect January 4, 2004.
Carriers are being advised by their associations to await further decisions by the Department of Transportation (DOT) before making any changes in their driver schedules, says Cliff Harvison, National Tank Truck Carriers president.
“I’m very disappointed in the decision and I'm hopeful that the DOT will launch an appeal," Harvison said.
It appears that DOT has 45 working days to make decisions, including whether to appeal, Harvison added.
The court’s decision follows a lawsuit filed by Public Citizen and other groups protesting the new rule, citing driver health issues, an increase in maximum driving time from 10 hours to 11 hours, and sleeper berth exceptions.
” For the reasons more fully set out below, we agree with petitioners that the rulemaking was arbitrary and capricious, because the FMCSA failed to take account of a statutory limit on its authority,” the court said in its opinion.”
To see the opinion in its entirety, click here for the court’s Web site at cadc.uscourts.gov