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![handle is hein.crs/crsmthzzbkx0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
CRS INSIGHT
Department of Transportation Considering Changes to
Trucking Hours of Service Rule
September 6, 2018 (IN10963)
Related Author
* David Randall Peterm n
David Randall Peterman, Analyst in Transportation Policy (determanThcrs oc.ov, 7-3267)
On August 23, 2018, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published an Advance Notice of
PrQpsed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking information and public comment about several changes in the Hours of
Service limits for commercial drivers that it was considering. The comment period is scheduled to end on September 24,
2018. FMCSA is also holding pub1]li l ning e ns.
In order to promote safety by reducing the incidence of fatigue among commercial drivers, in 1935 Congress authorized
the Department of Transportation (DOT) to limit the number of hours a driver could drive. The regulation limiting the
driving time of commercial drivers is known as the Hours of Service (HOS) rule. Currently, the HOS rule limits drivers
hauling freight to a maximum of 11 hours of driving time in an on-duty period of up to 14 hours, followed by at least 10
hours off duty before coming on duty again; also, drivers must take a break of at least 30 minutes no later than eight
hours after coming on duty if they wish to continue to drive after that eighth hour. Drivers transporting passengers have
slightly different limits.
Until December 2017, drivers kept track of their service hours by filling out a paper log book. It was an open secret that
drivers often violated the HOS limits, and that the paper logs filled out by the drivers themselves made such violations
easy to hide. For decades, highway safety groups had called for a more secure method of recording the service hours of
drivers. In 2012 Congress mandaled that trucks be equipped with electronic logging devices (ELDs), and in 2015 DOT
finalized a rle to implement that mandate. DOT set the mandate to take effect in December 2017 to give the industry
time to prepare for the change.
Since the ELD mandate went into effect, certain sectors of the commercial trucking industry have complained about its
impact. Since the ELD mandate did not change the HOS rule, but merely made it harder to evade the HOS limits
without being detected, those complaints suggest that some industry practices had not been in compliance with the HOS
rule.
In establishing regulations, government agencies consider the costs and benefits of the regulations. While the HOS rule
contributes to highway safety, it also imposes costs on industry by limiting a range of possible business practices. In
consideration of those costs, Congress and DOT have created exceptions to the HOS rule for certain sectors of the](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/crsmthzzbkx0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)