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Oct 28, 2009 8:44 AM

Here we go again on driver Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. A new rule is coming from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and the wrangling may never end.

FMCSA announced on October 27 that it will completely rewrite the 2008 HOS regulations that are currently in effect. FMCSA officials said the agency will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking within nine months and a final rule in less than two years. The agency will continue to enforce the current HOS rules until the new regulation takes effect.

Issued during the Bush Administration, the current HOS regulation was under constant attack from anti-trucking groups, including Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, The Truck Safety Coalition, and The Teamsters.

The current HOS regulation contains the 11-hour driving cycle that was first announced in 2003. That was an increase in truck driving hours from the previous rule. The Court of Appeals for the Washington DC Circuit struck down the current rule in 2004, but Congress resurrected it as part of the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004.