WASHINGTON. Ont. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration head Annette Sandberg says Congress probably won’t write driver hours-of-service rules into law, a move the truck safety agency had sought to insulate its new HOS from lawsuits.

FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandberg told a congressional panel last week that the agency was "not betting on" getting its already challenged HOS rules codified in long-term transportation legislation Congress is considering.

She said that if Congress did not act, the agency "would still need to continue" work on writing a new rule. The FMSCA has until September of this year to do so, thanks to a successful court challenge by a public interest group last year.