ATA Asks For Delay of HOS Rule Ahead of Court Decision

The American Trucking Associations has requested a three-month delay of the new hours-of-service rule slated to take effect on July 1.

According to Transport Topics, ATA asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for a delay in the effective date following a court’s decision about the rule.

Oral arguments for ATA’s suit challenging the new HOS rule is scheduled for March 15 and a decision is expected sometime in June.

In a letter sent to the agency late last week, ATA President Bill Graves wrote that a delay beyond the scheduled July 1 compliance date “will avoid potentially duplicative and unnecessary training, prevent confusion if the court’s decision alters . . . the final rule, and, given the anticipated short length of the delay, will have no measureable impact on highway safety.”

ATA stated that while it hoped the litigation will have been decided far enough in advance for law enforcement to be certain of the rule’s provisions, the March 15 court date “makes that highly unlikely.”

ATA noted that FMCSA has previously stated that “industry and law enforcement may need extra time to train personnel and to adjust schedules and automated systems.”

ATA added that it is not the associations’ intent to “forestall the effective compliance date any longer than necessary to meet the previously stated needs of the enforcement community and the [trucking] industry.”

It added that it believes a decision on the case is likely sometime in June, “but if not, ATA, as a party to the litigation, would offer to join FMCSA in petitioning the court to expedite the decision.”