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Oct 4, 2005 7:46 AM

The president of the American Trucking Associations is urging state enforcement officials to follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s lead regarding a three-month transitional enforcement period for the revised hours-of-Service rules.

“FMCSA has done a good job of finding a balance between how many hours a person can drive and rest and where we can move freight safely,” Bill Graves said. “But we need a chance to test the sleeper berth rule, and we need to talk with carriers about it.”

FMCSA has provided a three-month transition period from October 1 through December 31, 2005, to give the industry and state law enforcement officials time to adjust to the new rules

Under existing procedures, more than 20 states already have codified the revised rules in state law and have the option of immediate enforcement on interstate drivers and carriers, ATA said. The remaining states must follow an administrative or legislative approach to adoption.

ATA has posted a map on its Web site at truckline.com that indicates how each of the states adopt safety rules such as HOS.