all claims. Tat doesn’t mean they’re false claims. It just means they’re unsubstantiated.’” Te agency published its notice of proposed


rulemaking May 13, 2014, and received 90 submissions. Te American Trucking Associations supported a ban on coercion but expressed concern about the rule’s effect on motor carriers’ relations with shippers, receivers and brokers. Others worried about unintended consequences, such as unfair allegations made by drivers. Concerns were expressed regarding whether entities would have to inquire as to the number of hours a driver had driven.


ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Richard Pianka, ATA general counsel, said


his group was supportive of the concept but concerned about the details, such as how to define “coercion.” He said ATA was generally pleased with the way FMCSA addressed those concerns. “We definitely don’t think that anybody


should be urging drivers to violate the hours of service rules,” he said. “We think compliance of hours of service rules is important, and so we certainly support, in general, FMCSA taking steps to ensure that nobody’s pushing drivers to drive outside their hours. … It’s a new rule, and like any new rule, we’ll have to see exactly how it plays out in practice.” Te final rule was amended to require the


driver to make a specific objection in order for coercion to occur. Tat was a good change from the ATA’s perspective, Pianka said, because it means carriers and shippers won’t be required to guess at how much time a driver has left. Instead, the driver must object at the time the request is made and will have to show coercion occurred. Sharma, former general counsel for the


American Trucking Associations, said other improvements would have kept the regulation out of some gray areas. While he’s glad that drivers must affirmatively object to a potential rules violation, he wishes the FMCSA would have required them to record their objections in writing at the time of the alleged incident. Such a move would help resolve disputes, he said.


Asked if a driver could be expected to do that in the moment, he said, “It seems to me


if the driver is concerned enough that there’s going to be a violation, asking the driver to put that down at the time they’re making the objection would not be too far a step.” Maverick’s Newell said the rule was


needed in order for the FMCSA to implement its new rule requiring motor carriers to install electronic logging devices in trucks, a measure Maverick and the Arkansas Trucking Association support. But he is also concerned about potential


unforeseen effects. “We’ve always been good when the driver


said, ‘I’m tired;’ we just automatically shut them down,” he said. “My biggest fear, though, is, ‘OK, well, we shut them down and they miss a load that was going to get them home, are they going to construe that as coercion?” One area that’s clear: A shipper or receiver


can order a driver off its property, even if the driver claims he’s out of hours, without being guilty of coercion. Te rule recognizes that property owners have a right to control access to their property, Sharma said.


COERCION COUNT Te Federal Register documents that


the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had determined that 253 whistleblower complaints against employers from 2009 through 2012 by drivers had merit (out of 1,158 complaints), while FMCSA had validated 20 allegations by drivers that they had been coerced by carriers (out of 91 complaints). Tose complaints were all against employers, while the rule also applies to shippers, receivers and brokers. Te Register reported that drivers


testifying at FMCSA listening sessions and before Congress said they were being coerced by carriers, shippers, receivers and others to deliver loads that would force them to violate hours of service and other regulations, or to operate vehicles with mechanical problems. “Te consequences of their refusal to do


so are either stated explicitly or implied in unmistakable terms: Loss of a job, denial of subsequent loads, reduced payment, denied access to the best trips, etc.,” the Register said.


Continues


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