WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued the following statement on today’s announcement by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on proposed changes to hours of service (HOS) requirements for truckers.

“These proposed changes add some common sense into hours of service rules for truck drivers. Under the proposal, when a truck isn’t operating and a driver sleeps in a berth, that counts as ‘resting’ – that isn’t always the case now. It would also eliminate complicated rules that effectively attempt to regulate incremental stops for restroom breaks and leg stretching. One size fits all regulations don’t always make much sense and changing them will bring us a step closer to letting truckers safely and efficiently comply with all requirements.”

With the implementation of the electronic logging device (ELD) requirements that track hours of service for drivers, Sen. Thune and other members of the Commerce Committee have worked to advance necessary regulatory flexibility for truck drivers to fully adhere with highway safety rules. Their efforts includea letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on November 16, 2017, requesting special consideration for livestock hauling and other agricultural loads as well as a letter to FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez seeking common sense changes benefiting all types of truckers.  

Click here for more information on the new proposal from FMCSA.

The 30-day comment period for the new proposal begins today. To submit a comment online, visit http://www.regulations.gov, insert docket number “FMCSA-2018-0248” in the keyword box and click “search.” When the new screen appears, click “Comment Now!”