Enforcement of the new hours-of-service regulations began March 4 after the Department of Transportation(DOT)instructed state officials to start writing violation citations. The HOS regulations put safety limits on the number of hours commercial drivers can work and operate trucks each day.
Since January 4, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and state officials have led an aggressive educational enforcement program designed to teach drivers about the new rules and ensure flagrant violations were rigorously enforced. The effort included the distribution of more than a million pieces of literature, countless seminars with the trucking community, and thousands of phone call responses to drivers’ questions, according to DOT.
DOT will continue to monitor feedback from the nation’s truckers to decide what additional education is needed. While initial feedback has been focused on compliance, anecdotal reports show the new HOS rules are contributing to added efficiency within the supply chain by encouraging shippers to load cargo more quickly, according to DOT.
The new rules represent the first major rewrite of the HOS regulations in over 60 years.