Lawsuits Begin in Response to FMCSA’s Changes to the Hours of Service Rules
As we mentioned in a previous blog – Trucking Industry News: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Announces Several Changes to Hours of Service Rules – The Maryland Motor Truck Association (MMTA) recently announced several Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) changes to the hours of services rules. Most of these rules will not go into effect until July 1, 2013. A few, however, went into effect Monday, February 27th. These include:
• Time resting in a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) will now be counted as off-duty time in lieu of the current on-duty time. It is important to note that this off-duty time does NOT extend the 14 consecutive hour daily limit; however, it can be used to allow a driver to extend his weekly limits. There is no limit on the amount of time that a driver can rest in a parked commercial vehicle.
• A new “egregious” hours of service violation – defined as exceeding the maximum daily drive time of 11 hours by three or more hours – begins in February. The penalty for this violation can be as much as $2,750 for a driver and $11,000 for the motor carrier.
As expected, the American Trucking Associations recently filed suit in an objection to the revised 34-hour restart. Additionally, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen, and the Truck Safety Coalition sued last week for judicial review of the 11 hour daily drive time limit.
There is no telling how these lawsuits will affect the implementation of these new restrictions.
If you have any questions about the FMCSA hours of service rules, please contact Middleton and Meads by calling 410-752-5588 or click here today!
With three locations to serve you throughout Baltimore, Washington and Virginia, Middleton and Meads will keep you “on the road.” So go ahead and do what you do best and let us take care of the rest. Our service professionals are experienced and knowledgeable. That is why companies of all sizes depend on us – day in, day out, mile after mile.
The Middleton & Meads Company has a long and respected history in the transportation industry. We are a family owned and operated company through four generations, celebrating over 90 years quality of truck, bus and equipment repair and service.
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Sources:
Maryland Motor Truck Association – MMTA E-News