Blue Ink Technology

There has been a lot of talk about revising Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, especially since the ELD mandate took effect and highlighted a lot of shortcomings in the current rules. The FMCSA is considering what changes to make, and has scheduled a public listening session to hear the concerns of interested parties.

The session will be held September 22nd, from 10am to 12pm at the National Auto Museum in Reno, Nevada, and will be webcast live for those who are interested in participating but cannot attend in person. You can submit questions during the live stream to ListeningSession@dot.gov.

The four specific areas under consideration for revision and two petitions include:

• Expanding the current 100 air-mile “short-haul” exemption from 12 hours on-duty to 14 hours on-duty, in order to be consistent with the rules for long-haul truck drivers;


• Extending the current 14-hour on-duty limitation by up to two hours when a truck driver encounters adverse driving conditions;


• Revising the current mandatory 30-minute break for truck drivers after 8-hours of continuous driving; and


• Reinstating the option for splitting up the required 10-hour off-duty rest break for drivers operating trucks that are equipped with a sleeper-berth compartment.


• Petitions received from the Owner Operators and Independent Drivers Association and TruckerNation.

To register for the event, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fmcsa-public-listening-session-tickets-50281408045.

For more information, read the FMCSA's announcement here.