FMCSA extends hours of service comment period

Updated Sep 22, 2019
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Two organizations and a union requested more time for members of the trucking industry and others to comment on proposed changes in federal hours of service regulations and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration agreed … in part.

The FMCSA extended by 14 days to Oct. 21 the time it will receive comments on the possible changes. The American Trucking Associations and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance had earlier requested a 30-day extension. The Teamsters union had requested an additional 45 days.

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 flexibility around the 30-minute break and allowing drivers to extend the 14-hour on-duty window for adverse conditions. It also 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.

The extension comes after the FMCSA held two listening sessions, the latest one in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, Sept. 17.

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