The International Brotherhood of Teamsters lost a bid to overturn a Trump Administration hours of service rule that provides timely flexibility to truckers and consumer savings.
In a rare consensus between the Trump and Biden administrations, the current leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation supported the rule change. The regulation safety groups and the Teamsters Union balked at involving eight hours of consecutive driving over a 14-hour period. The Trump Administration — via the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — allowed truckers to count tasks such as refueling and managing paperwork as non-driving duties. That allows truckers to count that time as part of their 30-minute required breaks.
“While aspects of the (Trump) administration’s analysis and reasoning leave much to be desired, at bottom, the administration sufficiently explained and factually justified its conclusions that the new short-haul exemption and the 30-minute break requirement would not adversely affect safety, driver health, or regulatory compliance,” a three-judge panel in the D.C. Circuit concluded.
Hours of service regulations have shifted over the years. Before the Trump-era changes, truckers were typically restricted to 11 hours of drive time within a 14-hour window. Following that period, a minimum of 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time needed to be logged before taking the wheel again. And CDL professionals were required to take 30-minute rest breaks that did not involve other aspects of trucking. The previous rules were largely seen as something of an overreach and counterproductive because they applied whether a trucker was hauling freight or waiting for a load.
“It has created a hazardous race to beat the clock,” Nashville-based truck driver Steve Manley reportedly said of the old rule. “Drivers are now more reckless than ever trying to make it to their destination before the clock runs out with the mandatory breaks and such.”
Organizations such as the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, Parents Against Tired Truckers, and Teamsters Union focused primarily on the 30-minute break provision in their lawsuit. Opponents argued the changes weakened the intended safety provisions and were arbitrary and capricious.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reportedly considered upwards of 3,000 public comments in 2019 before announcing the hours of service rule changes. The previous administration indicated that increased break-time flexibility reduced driver stress, improved highway safety, and resulted in a net consumer savings of an estimated $287 million annually.
“At bottom, the (Trump) administration’s finding of no adverse health effect involved a reasonable weighing of many factors, including empirical studies and on-the-ground experience in related areas. While the administration’s reasoning was underwhelming in certain respects, it gets across the arbitrary and capricious line,” the panel of judges reportedly stated.
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Finally, some sense from DC.
The current rule definitely takes a lot of stress and needless sitting out of my day.
These “safety groups” are nothing but truck haters. They would like nothing better than to have no trucks on the road at all. Of course, then they would be naked and hungry.
The tax $$$ the people dole out to have HOS regs drafted then challenged,legally, would be statistic exceeding the alleged $$$ said to be savings to tax payer by drafting,implementing,then challenging such statutory legislation in court in the first place. Sounds like a racket.Don’t call it ‘court’ for nothing.That’s where games are played,usually with ‘rackets’. Alleged ‘studies’,the said result determines drafting of HOS regs. Go looking for ‘subjects’ of said ‘studies’. Mystery ‘subjects’. Who are these ‘subjects’? No one can seem to find any or id any. i made exodus from transportation industry in May,2021 after 25+ years. 55 years old. Not going back. During that 25 years,HOS reg meddling occurred at least 10 times.