The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks to overhaul hours of service rules for truck drivers, but retains an exemption AGC successfully advocated for in 1995.
The proposal was released on Wednesday December 29, 2010, with the comment period ending February 28, 2011. AGC will submit comments in support of retaining the construction exemption.
The exemption allows drivers transporting construction materials and equipment to or from an active construction site within a 50-air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location of the driver to restart the on-duty counting period following any off-duty period of 24 or more successive hours.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for drivers not included within the transporting of construction material provision would:
• Retain a portion of the “34-hour restart” provision allowing drivers to restart their weekly clock by taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty. However, the restart provision would be revised by requiring that it include two consecutive off-duty periods from midnight to 6:00 a.m. Drivers would be allowed to use this restart only once during a 7-day period, essentially creating a mandatory “weekend.”
• Decrease daily “on-duty” time from a maximum 14 to 13 hours. Drivers would continue to be allowed to drive either 10 or 11 hours within a 14-hour “window.”
• Require a minimum 30-minute break after a maximum of 7 hours driving or working in order for a driver to continue driving.
• Permit the standard 14-hour window to be extended to 16 hours twice a week. (However, this does not mean an increase in on-duty or driving time, only that the driver would have more time to complete tasks.)
• Seek public comment on whether daily driving time should be reduced from the current 11 hours to 10 hours. (However, FMCSA says it now favors a 10-hour limit.)
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