Permanently repealing certain aspects of the 34-hour restart provision of the U.S. hours-of-service rules remains a top priority of the American Trucking Associations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) suspended for one year parts of the reset rule, effectively reverting back to its original reset provision when the HoS rules were enacted.
David Osiecki, ATA’s executive VP and chief of national advocacy, addressed the 2015 Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) annual meeting this week, saying the association will focus on getting a permanent resolution – although it would likely be a challenge.
“It took significant lift to even get a one-year suspension of those [HOS] restart provisions, so trying to get a permanent fix will be very difficult,” he said, as quoted as by Fleet Owner magazine.
Osiecki also said the driver shortage is an issue demanding greater level of attention. It’s “as bad as it’s ever been” and something the industry “needs to place greater emphasis upon.”
Another issue ATA plans to focus on in 2015 is establishing a “standard speed” for speed limiters. “The industry is already using speed-limiting technology, but some are governing their trucks at 62 mph while others govern them at 71 mph,” he pointed out. “We’d like to see a single standard speed set.”
Osiecki concluded by saying 2015 will be a busy year for regulations, before slowing down significantly in 2016.
“… There is a pattern to presidential administrations; and both parties do this” he explained. “In the third year [of a four-year presidential term] the administration does as many rulemakings as they can. But by year four, that regulatory pipeline slows to a halt.”