New Hours of Service Rule Under Review

APRIL 11, 2019 – The FMCSA has taken the first big step towards giving drivers greater flexibility in managing their hours of service. Early last week, the agency submitted its proposed rule to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

Although the FMCSA hasn’t given any specific details about what they’re proposing, they did issue some clues last fall when they asked for public comment on a few different hours of service changes:

• Giving drivers who use the 100 air mile, short-haul exemption an additional two hours of on-duty time each day. This will give them up to 14 hours of available on-duty time.
• Allowing drivers an extra two hours of time when they encounter adverse driving conditions.
• Eliminating the 30-minute rest break that is required after eight hours of continuous driving.
• Providing split sleeper berth options for the required 10 hour off-duty period.

We won’t know for sure whether any (or all) of these changes made the proposed rule until it clears the OMB and is published in the Federal Register for public comment. This process typically takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to complete.

Provided the OMB clears the proposed rule, the industry could see new hours of service changes later this year. It will be the first time in almost two decades that the regulations have been updated.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on the journey of this much-anticipated proposal as it makes its way through Washington.

Do you think the proposed rule will give drivers the flexibility they need to do their jobs effectively? Leave your comments below!