TIA Files Comments to FMCSA on HOS Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

TIA has filed comments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on possible changes to the motor carrier driver’s hours-of-service (HOS) regulations. TIA’s Highway Logistics Conference discussed the proposed possible changes and decided to support amending the split sleeper berth time rule and the short-haul exemption rule.

In its comments, TIA stated:

As the premier organization representing third-party logistics companies (3PLs), TIA supports revising the split sleeper berth rule and the short haul HOS rule. Amending what we consider to be flawed regulations will provide much needed flexibility to the motor carriers and drivers while improving safety on our nation’s highways and roads. The current HOS arbitrary rules are not working and have not resulted in increased safety. In fact, they have had the opposite effect. The pressure of the 14-hour clock is stressful and has caused drivers to drive faster when they are facing the deadline This is especially dangerous in unsafe road conditions. Since the July 2013 HOS changes, the total number of crashes involving large trucks, as well as fatal crashes for large trucks, has increased by 45.4 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively.

As of today, there are more than 3,500 comments filed to the ANPRM from motor carriers, safety advocates and other industry stakeholders. With the full implementation of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), the Agency is examining different aspects of the HOS Rules for possible amending.

TIA’s comments further stated:

With the full implementation of the Electronic-Logging Devices (ELDs) in April of 2018, the FMCSA is seeing a 99.7 percent compliance rate amongst those motor carriers during a roadside inspection and a significant 48 percent decrease in the number of HOS violations. This gives the Agency the chance to reexamine the impact of the HOS regulations and what regulations could be improved. Combine this with the amount of real-time data being collected from the motor carriers ELDs, and the Agency has more than enough data to update the regulatory changes that benefit the motor carrier industry.

To get involved on the Highway Logistics Conference, or if you have any questions, please contact Chris Burroughs at burroughs@tianet.org or 703-299-5705.