In a decision that was not surprising to many, a federal appeals court in Washington DC upheld almost all of the new changes to the Hours of Service (HOS) rules promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in 2011 and placed into affect last month.
In a lawsuit filed by the American Trucking Associations to block the new rules, the only provision in the changes thrown out by the court in its decision Friday was a minor issue relative to the requirement that even short haul drivers (less than 150 miles) had to take a 30-minute break. Every other element of the new rules was upheld.
The ATA had basically argued that the cost-benefit analyses used by the FMCSA and required by law for such new regulations was fatally flawed and poorly applied, and thus the changes based on those analyses were invalid.
But the three-judge panel said in its decision, written by judge Janice Rogers Brown, that FMCSA "did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in restricting the restart to once per 7 days.".
Brown continued: "Federal agencies can make such changes if reasonable justification is provided and this reflected a changed understanding of how the 34-hour restart is used in practice."
full story
In a lawsuit filed by the American Trucking Associations to block the new rules, the only provision in the changes thrown out by the court in its decision Friday was a minor issue relative to the requirement that even short haul drivers (less than 150 miles) had to take a 30-minute break. Every other element of the new rules was upheld.
The ATA had basically argued that the cost-benefit analyses used by the FMCSA and required by law for such new regulations was fatally flawed and poorly applied, and thus the changes based on those analyses were invalid.
But the three-judge panel said in its decision, written by judge Janice Rogers Brown, that FMCSA "did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in restricting the restart to once per 7 days.".
Brown continued: "Federal agencies can make such changes if reasonable justification is provided and this reflected a changed understanding of how the 34-hour restart is used in practice."
full story
