Page 38 - ATR 1 2012 web 2

example of a federal agency relying on with two sleep periods from 1 a.m. to occur when they submitted a letter to
faulty data. “Until this industry has 5 a.m. the FMCSA urging the agency to forgo
electronic on-board recorders on all The bill would require the agency any changes in the federal hours-of ser-
commercial trucks, the FMCSA will to do a field study of the provision. The vice (HOS) rule.
never know how the industry is really study would have to be completed by
operating or what a new rule should or March 31, 2013, three months before oNE vIcTory
should not require.” the rule is scheduled to go into effect. The biggest surprise in the publica-
If the study supports the rule, then tion of the new rule was that FMCSA
polITIcal froNT the provision would go into effect on did not reduce the 11-hour daily driv-
Congress weighed into the hours- schedule. ing limit. The major lobbying forces
of-service fray by actually including its But if the study does not support in trucking believed the agency would
mention in the recent 800-plus-page the change, the agency would have to go almost certainly lower the maximum
transportation reauthorization bill. The through another rulemaking to modify driving time to one hour. In fact,
Senate made no mention of the rule. the rule. The current restart rule would the agency’s stated preference was a
But in the House highway bill, the remain in effect during the rulemaking 10-hour driving limit.
FMCSA will be forced to rewrite the process. But FMCSA said it could not justify
34-hour restart provision of the rule, This was apparently the action lowering driving hours. The agency said
which limits the restart to once a week several Congressmen promised would it could not establish “adequate and
reasonable” grounds for adopting a new
regulation, and that the current driv-
Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Volume 6, Number 2 • April 2001 • $4.95 Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 14, No. 3 • June 2009 • $4.95
ing limit should therefore be allowed
Tim Hill to stand, at least for now. And FMCSA
ShifTing gearS
acknowledged that 93 percent of those
filing official comments disagreed with
the rule as proposed.
22,000 public outreach effort in our agency’s
Death Tax • Size and Weight Laws • Legislative hearing “This final rule is the culmination
Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 15, No. 3 • June 2010 • $4.95 Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 14, No. 6 • December 2009 • $4.95 Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 16, No. 2 • Issue 2 2011 • $4.95 of the most extensive and transparent
history,” said FMCSA Administrator
ReadeRs Anne Ferro in a statement. “With
robust input from all areas of the truck-
ing community, coupled with the latest
stRong a rule acknowledging that when truck-
Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 13, No. 1 • February 2008 • $4.95 Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 12, No. 2 • April 2007 • $4.95 Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 15, No. 1 • February/March 2010 • $4.95 scientific research, we carefully crafted
ers are rested, alert and focused on
safety, it makes our roadways safer.”
In subsequent interviews, Ferro has
told the press that FMCSA would con-
tinue to work for a 10-hour limit.
Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 15, No. 6 • December 2010 • $4.95 Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 16, No. 3 • Issue 3 2011 • $4.95
Award-Winning Regional Journal of the Arkansas Trucking Association Vol. 15, No. 2 • April 2010 • $4.95 Opponents have argued the agency
never justified raising the limit to 11
hours in the first place, and they now
question how the agency can say it lacks
scientific grounds for changing it back.
Advocates for Highway and Auto
Safety has been a plaintiff in lawsuits
filed against the 11-hour rule after its
Already an award-winning regional magazine, we’re pleased 2003 introduction. The most recent
to announce Arkansas Trucking Report (ATR) now boasts a case resulted in the October 2009 set-
whopping 22,000 readers nationwide and we're still tlement in which the FMCSA agreed to
growing. That makes ATR a great place for you to advertise.
“review and reconsider” that rule.
If you want to reach this highly targeted, influential group of our industry's leading decision-makers and ask “Our argument has been two
them to consider purchasing your products or services, then you’ll want to place an ad in every issue of ATR.
Contact Jennifer Kidd, publisher, jennifer@matthewspublishing.com to make it happen. wrongs don’t make a right,” Henry
Jasny, vice president and general counsel

38 arkansas truCking rePort | issue 1 2012