The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is adding to its interim final rule four documents concerning driver hours-of-service (HOS) rules, according to information published in the Federal Register July 30.
FMCSA said in the notice that it is adding:
- A description of the FMCSA HOS Simulation Computer Model and instructions for its use.
- An FMCSA HOS Simulation Computer Model including sleeper-berth use.
- An FMCSA HOS Simulation Computer Model excluding sleeper-berth use.
- A subset of outputs from the FMCSA HOS Simulation Computer Model, showing details of calculations as used in the 2007 Regulatory Impact Analysis in Docket Item FMCSA 004-19608-2529.
According to the FMCSA information, the HOS Computer Simulation Program is a complex FMCSA computer model simulating the movements of a single vehicle (with one or two drivers and in different scenarios) operated in compliance with the FMCSA HOS regulations. This model was used in the 2007 Regulatory Impact Analysis and is Docket Item FMCSA-2004-19608-2529. The HOS requirements may be modified by the simulation program user, allowing the model to analyze various types of HOS options to show the marginal impact on driver productivity, which could be translated into cost effects. The computer model uses the Visual Basic programming language to operate a macro-driven Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
On August 25, 2005, FMCSA published a final HOS rule (70 FR 49978). On July 24, 2007, the District of Columbia Circuit Court vacated the 11-hour driving time and 34-hour restart provisions of the 2005 rule (Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Inc versus the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). In response to the court decision, FMCSA published the interim final rule December 17, 2007, that reinstated the two provisions vacated by the court and sought further comments on those provisions.
More information about recent FMCSA document additions can be found online at bulktransporter.com.