The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is welcoming the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) memorandum that asks for a court delay in implementing its ruling on regulations that govern the working hours of commercial drivers.
ATA said the FMCSA memorandum filed September 21 strongly supports ATA's request that the US District of Columbia Court's vacating of the 11- and 34-hour provisions of the hours-of-service (HOS) rules be stayed pending their reconsideration by the agency.
"We are pleased that the agency has supported our motion and our view that the court ruled only on the procedures that FMCSA used in adoption of the hours-of-service regulations, and not on the regulations themselves," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "It is also important to note that the FMCSA states that available data show that continuing the status quo will not diminish safety."
FMCSA said a stay was needed to "prevent substantial disruption of trucking operations," and cited timing concerns and significant transition costs to the industry related to a rule change. Those costs could "have to be incurred again," FMCSA said. The agency also predicted disruptions and confusion in HOS enforcement if the rules were changed, according to ATA information.
FMCSA suggested that the court grant a 12-month stay during which it would conduct a new rulemaking to consider new data and address the procedural shortcomings identified by the court, ATA said.