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HOS rule draws mixed reaction
By Jill Dunn
The American Trucking Associations embraced the latest hours-of-service rule issued as continuing safety improvements, while the Teamsters and Public Citizen scorned the new regulations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a final rule adopting the provisions of its 2007 interim final rule. The agency issued the December 2007 IFR to hold current regulations in place pending a reconsideration ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. It was a reaffirmation of the HOS that had been in place in 2004.
The ATA said in recent years, large truck crash, injury and fatality rates dropped to the lowest point since the U.S. Department of Transportation began recording the statistics.
“The substantive provisions of these hours of service have never been overturned by any court,” ATA said in a statement. “Dire predictions of fatigue and accidents made by organizations opposing the rule have never come to pass.”
The Teamsters, however, said the percentage of fatal crashes resulting from driver fatigue rose 20 percent in 2005 from 2004.
“We will continue to fight this dangerous midnight rule through the courts and through Congress,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters general president. “We’re currently reviewing our legal options, especially since the court threw out this regulation twice.”
Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook said DOT statistics indicated that from 2003 to 2006, annual deaths among large trucks occupants increased from 726 to 805. Also, the newest HOS rule does not require electronic on-board recorders.
“This rule will continue to force truck drivers to continue enduring sweatshop-like working conditions,” Claybrook said. “This puts the health and safety of drivers at risk, along with the public who must share the road with tired truckers.”
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