Trucker Safety Rules Thrown Out by U.S. Appeals Court

Most of the articles about this have the same story from Reuters. This one has a different spin to it. It actually sounds like bad news in this article instead of what the court of appeals said, that FMCSA didn’t take into consideration drivers health and they were “arbitrary and capricious.” Months, if not years were spent in research, public and closed hearings and how much of our tax dollars? And the court thinks they just pulled these rules out of the FMCSA butt?

Bloomberg.com: U.S. Trucker Safety Rules Thrown Out by U.S. Appeals Court

July 16 (Bloomberg) — A federal appeals court threw out rules aimed at encouraging the 3 million truck drivers who ply U.S. highways to get more sleep, saying an agency responsible for road safety failed to consider the effect on their health.

We actually do get more rest with the new rules. 10 hours every day and if we hit 70 hours within 8 days, it’s a required 34 hour break.

The decision affects J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and Swift Transportation Co., two of the biggest truckers, which raised rates on routes where the rules prevented drivers from completing assignments. It upheld a challenge from Public Citizen, a highway-safety advocacy group that contended the Transportation Department rules might make drivers more tired.

Companies that raised rates in response to the new rules – made money even though fuel prices went up. I got that right here.

Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, who argued the case for Public Citizen, said in an interview that the court ruling would require the DOT to put the old rules back into effect.

Driving under the old rules of drive 10 – rest 8 – drive 10, is a lot of driving. After a couple of days of that, I was worn out. 8 hours doesn’t leave much time for eating or showering and barely enough for sleeping. After a little getting used to them, I actually like the new rules better. I still get a little creative, but I’m forced not to drive as hard as 10-8-10-8.

According to the ATA and FMCSA they have 45 days to rehear the case. After that a couple more delaying tactics can be used, but then it’s back to the drawing board, while everyone switches back to the old rules.