WASHINGTON — In announcing its final hours-of-service rule, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration confirmed Tuesday that it will keep the 11-hour driving and 34-hour restart provisions.

The final hours of service rule, therefore, will remain unchanged from the "interim" rule the trucking industry has been working under. Truck drivers are limited to driving for only 11 hours and working for no more than 14 hours each day.

Also, drivers to spend at least 10 hours resting between shifts and cannot operate a truck if they have worked more than 60 hours in a given week.

The rule will become effective Jan. 19, 2009, the day before the new federal administration takes over.

The rules have been in limbo since being introduced in 2004. Special interest groups like Public Citizen have been challenging the legality of the HOS regime from the start.

In July 2007, a U.S. court ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to better explanation its justifications for adopting the 11-hour drive time and 34-hour restart provisions of the rule.

After four years in legal limbo, the final American
HOS rules might be solidified in January.

A few months later, FMCSA announced it was keeping in place both provisions while it reworded its explanation. During the process, a federal appeals court denied Public Citizen’s request to invalidate the Interim Final Rule.

The final rule is based on an exhaustive scientific review and designed to ensure truck drivers get the necessary rest to perform safe operations and the quality of life they deserve, the agency’s Administrator, John Hill, noted.

The agency said it consulted with scientific and medial researchers, reviewed existing fatigue research and worked with organizations like the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and the National Institute for Occupational Safety in setting the final rules.

Hill said he was confident it would stand up to another legal challenge because the agency had appropriately addressed all concerns raised by the courts.

"These rules are crafted to match what we know about drivers’ circadian rhythms and the real world work environment truckers face every day," said Hill.

Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook wasn’t impressed. "FMCSA’s rule, which ignores mountains of safety research, authorizes the exact same 11-hours of driving and 34-hour restart provisions of rules past … The rule also fails to require electronic on-board recorders (EOBR) that are essential to assure effective enforcement of the rule."

However, FMCSA has been working on an EOBR mandate for several years. And while at first the rule would only target the worst HOS violators, there are strong indications the agency is planning to extend mandatory EOBRs to all carriers.