Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

From the Bloomberg News Service: “A rule that lets commercial truckers drive on U.S. roads for 11-hour stretches without a break should be overturned because of the potential for fatigue and accidents, highway-safety and labor groups told a federal court.

The hours-of-service rule, which was extended by President George W. Bush in November, was cited by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, as one of the “ghoulish midnight regulations” that Bush signed before leaving office. The rule should be rewritten by the Obama administration to account for “high levels of driver fatigue” and “chronic health problems that are widespread among professional drivers,” the groups said in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The rule also limits truckers to a 60-hour work week, while allowing them to start the week over if they take at least 34 hours off. The safety organizations say those requirements aren’t strict enough. “These excessive driving and work hours impose enormous scheduling burdens on drivers that increase stress and further compound underlying medical conditions that commercial drivers are prone to develop,” according to the organizations, which also include Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition.

The American Trucking Association has supported the current rule, saying the industry needs consistency rather than regulations that keep changing. The petition seeking reconsideration was filed today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.”