Put Breaks on Hours-of-Service Rule, ATA Says

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Congress to address the problems caused by changes to the hours-of-service (HOS) rules.

“We’re seeing mounting evidence that rather than solving anything, these rules are creating many problems for drivers and fleets alike,” said ATA president and CEO Bill Graves.

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reported that 67 percent of truck drivers were hit financially by the HOS rules that took effect July 1 and more than 80 percent of motor carriers surveyed have experienced a productivity loss.

“I’ve seen the impact these rules have had on my fleet, and clearly I’m not alone,” said ATA Chairman Phil Byrd, president of Bulldog Hiway Express.

“We’ve seen the Wall Street Journal document the impacts twice in less than a week, the American Transportation Research Institute publish evidence of the costs and additional challenges caused by these rules and tomorrow Congress is going to put these regulations under the microscope,” Byrd said.

“FMCSA should listen to the facts and rollback this ill-advised rule,” he added.

Graves called on Congress to support the TRUE Safety Act, a bill to suspend the new rules until an independent review is done.

“The TRUE Safety Act will put the brakes on these rules until they can be thoroughly vetted,” Graves said. “We’re confident that once they are independently and objectively reviewed, FMCSA will have no choice but to undo what it has done.”


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