The Trump Administration is preparing to weaken Hours of Service Regulations meant to prevent fatigue-related commercial trucking accidents.
Proposed Changes Affect 4 Specific Regulations
On Wednesday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published advanced notice of the proposed rule changes and is now seeking input from industry stakeholders and members of the public.
If adopted, the proposal would alter 4 key areas of the Hours of Service Regulations:
- Expand the current 100 air-mile “short-haul” exemption from 12 hours on-duty to 14 hours on-duty.
- Extend the current 14-hour on-duty limitation by up to 2 hours when a truck driver encounters adverse driving conditions.
- Revise the current mandatory 30-minute break for truck drivers after 8-hours of continuous driving.
- Reinstate the option for splitting up the required 10-hour off-duty rest break for drivers operating trucks that are equipped with a sleeper-berth.
FMCSA Schedules Listening Sessions on Proposed Hours of Services Rules Changes
The FMSCA is planning to hold a series of public listening sessions during the 30-day comment period.
The first will be convened tomorrow during the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas. The session is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. local time at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.
A second listening session will be held on September 14th in Washington, D.C., at FMCSA headquarters.
Future sessions will be announced.
Trump Administration Abandons Mandatory Sleep Apnea Screening for Commercial Drivers
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Board, fatigued drivers may be responsible for a significant portion (30-to-40%) of all commercial trucking accidents.
Yet the Trump Administration has been targeting federal regulations intended to reduce the risk of fatigue-related crashes since the President took office.
In March 2017, for example, the FMCSA abandoned a proposed regulation that would have required commercial drivers to undergo medical screening for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
The Obama Administration had proposed the rule after a deadly crash between a tour bus and an 18-wheeler killed 13 people outside of Palm Springs, California in October 2016.
An investigation into the tragedy determined that the bus driver – who died in the accident – may have fallen asleep just prior to the crash. Both drivers likely suffered from undiagnosed, Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Our Undefeated Truck Accident Lawyers Have Successfully Represented Clients in Cases Involving Fatigued Commercial Drivers
Our Undefeated Truck Accident Lawyers have extensive experience representing the victims of fatigue-related bus and truck crashes, winning record-breaking settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients.
Most recently, for example, our attorneys negotiated a $6 million settlement on behalf of several Greyhound passengers who were injured when a driver lost control of his bus, causing it to flip over several times.
Greyhound agreed to settle the case after we obtained the first court-ordered sleep study of a commercial driver in Texas, which indicated that the driver suffered from moderate to severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea and likely fell asleep at the wheel.
The settlement holds the record as the largest ever involving driver fatigue in Greyhound’s corporate history.
Our record-breaking settlement has been covered by CBS Morning News and other media outlets throughout the United States.
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