HourDiscontent ATRI research finds significant flaws in FMCSA’s 34-hour restart benefit-cost calculations


By ReBecca M. BRewsteR Guest Writer


On July 1 the trucking industry saw yet another


change to the Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules go into effect. While the impacts of these changes on the supply chain are just beginning to play out, there is little question in the industry that there will be impacts and that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) underestimated the costs these changes will extract from the economy. Since the implementation of the first far-


reaching changes to the HOS regulations in 2003, there has been significant debate and uncertainty related to the rules. FMCSA’s HOS rules govern both the number of hours a commercial driver may be on-duty and operate a commercial motor


vehicle (CMV), as well as how much rest is required between work periods. Safety benefits aside, the rules are critical to the financial viability of drivers and motor carriers; the HOS regulations limit the time that is allowed for earning income, and non- compliance carries severe penalties. From 2010 through mid-2013 a rulemaking


process took place to change the HOS. Tat process considered decreasing daily driving allowances, limiting the use of the 34-hour restart and requiring many drivers to take a 30-minute rest break. Te final rulemaking ultimately included two changes or provisions to the 34-hour restart rule and a 30-minute rest break requirement. Te American Transportation Research


Institute (ATRI) recently published its assessment NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 4, 2013 — www.nebtrucking.com


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of the two 34-hour restart changes – limiting the restart to one every 168 hours and the requirement that restarts include two consecutive off-duty periods from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. – and found a significant delta between the FMCSA-purported benefits and likely costs to the industry. As part of the rulemaking process, FMCSA


conducted a Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) for the rules changes, which calculated a net benefit of $205 million annually, with $133 million of that net benefit calculation estimated by ATRI to be attributed to the restart provisions. FMCSA’s cost- benefit analysis is based on the agency’s assertion that the costs and benefits are limited to the 15 percent of the 1.6 million over-the-road drivers with


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