Updated Regulations Will Enhance Flexibility While Ensuring Safety
Arlington, Virginia – The American Trucking Associations expressed gratitude to the Trump Administration for releasing a revised hours-of-service regulation designed to offer professional drivers increased flexibility, all while maintaining safety standards.
“This new regulation, developed through a two-year, data-informed process, delivers essential flexibility for professional truck drivers while ensuring the safety of our highways,” stated ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “We appreciate the dedication and consideration shown by President Trump, Secretary Chao, and Administrator Mullen toward our industry and this regulation, which retains the fundamental limitations on drivers’ work and rest periods while implementing intelligent adjustments to certain rules.”
The updated final rule introduces the following modifications to the hours-of-service regulations:
- Aligns the short-haul on-duty period with industry standards and expands the air-mile radius for short-haul trucking to 150 air miles;
- Permits drivers to extend their driving window by up to two hours in specific adverse driving situations;
- Alters the requirement for a 30-minute rest period, allowing it to occur after 8 consecutive hours of driving instead of after the first eight hours on duty, and allows this break to be taken as on-duty time;
- Modifies the split sleeper berth provision to allow greater flexibility in how drivers divide their sleeper berth time.
“While no regulation can meet everyone’s expectations within our industry, this one exemplifies how, by collaborating with stakeholders, government can create a regulation that benefits both the industry and drivers while upholding highway safety,” remarked ATA Chairman Randy Guillot, who is also the president of Triple G Express Inc. in New Orleans. “The agency deserves recognition for their efforts, and we appreciate their openness during this process.”
“ATA has been actively involved in this rulemaking from the outset, and we are excited to see a final rule being established,” said Dan Horvath, ATA vice president of safety policy. “Through various meetings and discussions with ATA’s Safety Policy Committee, we have actively engaged with FMCSA since the proposal’s initial introduction. Though the final rule does not incorporate all of our suggestions, we will continue to collaborate with the agency to ensure that the HOS regulations align with ATA’s commitment to safety.”
