Opposing Suits?
Both sides of hours issue have problems with latest proposal
The Obama administration managed to do something with its recently released hours-of-service proposal that didn’t seem likely. It cleared a complex proposed rule that could bring litigation from both sides of the issue.
Most stakeholders in the trucking industry think it was unnecessary and goes too far, and the so-called safety groups that brought a lawsuit to have the current rule changed have criticized it for not going far enough.
It’s true that you can’t please everyone, but that looks like what the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which was charged with coming up with the proposal, tried to do. In the end, what we have is a proposal that appears to be change for the sake of change.
Looking at the proposed rule objectively (see special report on p. 16), it’s hard to find much flattering to say about it. Part of it is wishy-washy, part is somewhat vague, and it is, overall, impractical if implemented as is.
