Top trucking group seeks review of new service rules

The nation’s leading trucking association went to court Tuesday on behalf of Fedex and other companies to challenge new hours of service rules for truck drivers.

The American Trucking Associations says the rules, effective July 1, 2013, would make highways more dangerous while saddling trucking companies with higher costs and less f lexibility.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued new hours of service rules in December that would further restrict driver work hours without changing the standard 60-hour limit on driving in a seven- day week.

The agency says rule changes are based on exhaustive scientific research, particularly of driver fatigue, and that benefits will outweigh costs by $630 million to $470 million.

But ATA says both the science and the economics are f lawed.

“We need this issue to be resolved in a credible manner, taking into account the undisputed crash reduction since 2004, so we can focus limited government and industry resources on safety initiatives that will have a far greater impact on highway safety,” ATA president and CEO Bill Graves said.

Kevin Kallaher, Memphisbased driver for Milan Express, agreed. “They’re fixing something that’s not broken. All you’ve got to do is look at the figures for large - truck crashes. They’ve gone down the last eight years.”

ATA filed a petition in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia asking the court to review the regulations.

“Most of the major trucking companies are our members. I think it would be fair to say we’re suing on their behalf,” said ATA spokesman Sean Mcnally. “Fedex is in fact a member. They sit on our board.”

Fedex Freight is one of the nation’s largest less-thantruckload trucking companies, and Fedex Ground is a trucking company as well.

The new rules wouldn’t change how long a driver can drive (11 hours) or be on duty (14 hours) after 10 consecutive off- duty hours. They would mandate a 30-minute rest period during on- duty hours and make a significant change in something called the restart period.

Industry objections center on the planned change in the restart, which is the waiting period between the end of one work week and the beginning of the next.

Drivers and companies contend the change will eliminate f lexibility in scheduling and lead to more trucks on highways in early-morning rush hours.

“That troubles the industry,” said Dave Oshiecki, ATA’S senior vice president, policy and regulatory affairs.

“There’s a reason trucks move at night. That’s when freight moves. Some drivers want to drive at night because there’s less traffic. There’s a resistance in the industry to moving that time to the morning.”

Critics of current rules contend companies and drivers can manipulate the restart period to drive more than 60 hours in a week, but Oshiecki said the claim is overblown.

Kallaher, who was driving his rig across East Texas Tuesday, said regulators have good intentions but lack real-world perspective.

“I wish they’d sit down and talk with some drivers who know what they’re talking about,” he said. “I’d like to get a couple of them in the truck and let them ride with me for a couple days, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”