Truckers wanting to weigh in on potential hours of service changes will have an extra two weeks to submit comments on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s request for feedback.
The agency announced Wednesday it is extending the comment deadline from Monday, Sept. 24, to Wednesday, Oct. 10. Comments can be made here.
The Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in August doesn’t propose any changes to current hours of service regulations but lists questions to gather input from drivers, owner-operators, carriers and other industry stakeholders.
Specifically, FMCSA is seeking feedback on ways to overhaul hours regs in four key areas:
- Extending drivers’ 14-hour daily limit by two hours in the event of adverse conditions;
- Allowing drivers to split 10-hour off-duty periods into segments;
- Revising the 30-minute break requirement;
- Expanding hours limits for short-haul drivers.
FMCSA says it received requests to extend the comment period from several industry organizations, including the American Trucking Associations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the National Pork Producers Council and the National Tank Truck Carriers. More than 2,000 comments have been submitted as of Sept. 19.
In addition to the comment period, FMCSA is also holding listening sessions to receive feedback from the public. The next session will be held this Saturday, Sept. 22, in Reno, Nevada.
