HOS Suspension Signed Into Law

Yesterday President Obama signed into law the 2015 appropriations bill that includes a suspension of the FMCSA's 34-hour restart provision (which also removes the 1:00 AM - 5:00 AM requirement as well as the once-per-week restart). The restart rule has been reverted to the provisions enforced prior to July of 2013. While the FCMSA is required by law to issue a Federal Register notice to notify carriers, the suspension of the restart is currently the law of the land.

What's Next?

The suspension will continue until the FCMSA completes and submits its report comparing the safety statistics of the pre-2013 restart rule to those of the post 2013 rules. The main purpose of the study is to examine the amount of "safety critical events" (including accidents and driver fatigue) that occurred under the pre-2013 rules compared to those of the post 2013 regulations.

The two test groups-- one operating under the pre-2013 regulations and the other operating under the post 2013 rules-- will consist of a wide range of drivers and will require them to monitor their fatigue levels using a variety of on-board monitoring systems in addition to Psychomotor Vigilance tests. The results of the study must be compiled into a report and presented to a review panel of medical and scientific experts (including the Inspector General of the DOT).

The FCMSA must submit its testing plan to the Inspector General of DOT within 60 days of the signing of the bill (which occurred on Dec. 16th). Once the Inspector General receives approval from the applicable congressional committees, the FCMSA will have 210 days to compile and present the findings of its study.

Should the findings of the study (and the opinion of the aforementioned committees) conclude the post 2013 restart provision enhances driver safety, the 34-hour restart provision will likely be reinstated.

What Does This Mean For Drivers?

As we discussed in yesterday's article about the suspension of the 34-hour restart rule, we believe the suspension will have a positive impact on the transportation industry in the coming year. Many trucking related interest groups-- such as the ATA-- have joined us in applauding Congress on the decision to enforce the suspension of the 34-hour restart.

While the suspension has been officially signed into law, drivers will likely experience some delays and frustrations with the suspension's implementation. The adjustment period will likely vary for carriers, as implementation depends on how hours of service are recorded as well as on how quickly individual ELD vendors can update their software.

Once the dust settles and carriers are comfortable reverting to the pre-2013 regulations, we predict that drivers will reap the benefits of less restriction and oversight. Less regulation and oversight, combined with an upward economic trend signaling the expansion of driver workload, could lead to a big year of productivity for the transportation industry.

Please continue to check back for updates-- we will be covering news as it develops.