Trucking association letter to Obama details HOS concerns

Arlington, VA – American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves on Jan. 19 sent a letter (.pdf file) to President Barack Obama concerning a new executive order and how it applies to the Department of Transportation’s recent proposed hours-of-service rule changes (.pdf file).

On Jan. 18, Obama approved an executive order that lays out principles, structures and definitions for governing regulatory review. The Wall Street Journal published an editorial written by Obama regarding the executive order and the role of regulations to “protect safety, health and the environment while promoting economic growth.”

Graves alleged the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed changes to HOS for commercial motor vehicle drivers are similar to Obama’s description of the type of regulations that should be eliminated. “FMCSA’s Dec. 29, 2010, proposed changes to the HOS rule are, using your words, ‘just plain dumb,’ and ‘not worth the cost’ of making ‘our economy less competitive,’” Graves said in the letter.

ATA has criticized proposed changes, which FMCSA published in the Dec. 29 Federal Register, and said the current rule, enacted in 2004, has worked to reduce motor vehicle crashes.