Truck drivers, industry stakeholders and the public at large will have two extra weeks to comment on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposal to revamp hours of service regulations.
The agency announced in a Federal Register notice to be published Thursday, Sept. 19, it has extended the comment period from Oct. 7 to Oct. 21.
The extension follows requests by the American Trucking Associations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to extend the comment period. ATA requested a 30-day extension, while CVSA and the Teamsters requested an additional 45 days.
The 14-day extension effectively gives the hours proposal a 60-day comment period from the time it was published Aug. 22.
Changes in the notice of proposed rulemaking include allowing drivers to pause their 14-hour on-duty clock for up to three hours and extending split sleeper berth options for drivers. The proposal also includes for flexibility around the 30-minute break and allowing drivers to extend the 14-hour on-duty window for adverse conditions. Finally, the proposal would expand the on-duty period for short-haul drivers from 12 to 14 hours and extending the short-haul radius from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.
