09/06/2007

U.S. trucking companies want the government to keep regulations allowing truckers to drive 11 hours in a row, rather than the previous limit of 10, according to recent reports from the Associated Press.
The American Trucking Associations recently filed a petition with the federal government asking officials to issue a new version of two-year-old regulations on truckers’ hours to replace regulations struck down by a court in late July.
The trucking group argued that since the court’s ruling was focused on procedural issues rather than safety concerns, the Transportation Department should keep similar regulations in place, AP said.
The trade group says eliminating the two-year-old rule effective Sept. 14 would impose an expensive burden on the industry, while safety advocates say the industry is putting the public at risk by allowing truckers to drive too many hours.
Safety advocates applauded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s ruling, while, according to AP, the trucking association said in a statement that it “will be impossible for the trucking industry to adapt to immediate changes...without significant and costly impacts upon carriers’ operations.”
The court also threw out a rule that would have effectively increased weekly time limits on drivers’ hours by at least 25 percent.
A spokeswoman for the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the agency is still developing a response to the court ruling but would do so in time for the industry to adapt, said AP.