FMCSA hosts first HOS listening session

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Tuesday heard testimony from trucking industry stakeholders on how to revise its rule on hours of service for commercial motor vehicle drivers.

During the first of four public listening sessions scheduled for this month, FMCSA listened to remarks regarding driver fatigue research, rest and on-duty time, restart provisions, sleeper berth use, and loading and unloading time, among other topics related to HOS.

FMCSA agreed to review and possibly revise the HOS rule as part of a settlement agreement made in October with the Washington-based advocacy group Public Citizen and other organizations. The agency must submit a notice of proposed rulemaking this year and issue a final rule by summer 2011. The settlement agreement does not include any guidance, direction or restrictions on the scope and content of the forthcoming NPRM or make any commitments on the outcome of the notice-and-comment rulemaking process.

The agency will host the second public listening session today in Dallas and Jan. 25 in Los Angeles. A fourth listening session is scheduled for Jan. 28 in Davenport, IA. The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee also announced it will host a meeting (.pdf file) Feb. 1-2 to discuss HOS.