ARLINGTON, Va. — The US Court of Appeals has granted a 90-day stay of its mandate to eliminate the 11-hour driving day and 34-hour reset from the US hours-of-service regulations, falling well short of an eight-month request made by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and supported by the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

The ruling means the existing rules will remain in effect until Dec. 27. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has until then to convince the Court that the two provisions of the hours-of-service are justified and pose no safety threats.

The ATA responded last yesterday by voicing confidence the three-month timeframe is enough for FMCSA to satisfy the Court that the two provisions in question do not pose a safety risk.

Meanwhile, a request by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) to overhaul the hours-of-service restrictions on split rest in sleeper berths was once again rejected.

We are obviously not too happy about the decision, but more importantly, we are focused on reviewing other options on possible future actions, said OOIDA director of regulatory affairs, Rick Craig.

OOIDA contends that drivers were not given enough warning about the changes to adequately voice their concerns about the rules which the group says discourages drivers from taking short rest breaks.

While this concludes our options for review from the courts, we will be working with FMCSA for a speedy resolution now and petitioning the agency in the future for practical rules that reflect the real world for most truckers, added Craig.