A Congressionally required study of truck operators and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 2013-instituted 34-hour restart regulations has been completed and is now under review by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of the Secretary, said Scott Darling, nominated FMCSA administrator at a Senate hearing Jan. 20, according to Commercial Carrier Journal.
Reimplementation of the rules, suspended by Congress in late 2014, is contingent on the study’s completion and review by the DOT, the Office of the Inspector General and Congress itself.
Darling couldn’t offer lawmakers an exact timeline on the study’s movement from the DOT to the Inspector General and Congress, but Darling called the report “one of the best studies” ever done on hours-of-service regulations.
Darling testified before the Senate’s Commerce and Science Committee for nearly an hour as the next step in his nomination process. President Obama nominated Darling to head FMCSA in August 2015, a post made vacant by former Administrator Anne Ferro’s resignation in August 2014.
For Darling to head the agency on a permanent basis, he must be confirmed by the Senate. Prior to a full vote by the Senate, however, the Senate’s Commerce Committee will vote on whether to send Darling’s confirmation to the full Senate. That vote has not yet been scheduled.
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Editors Insight: Driver safety regulations can be confusing for carriers and drivers.
One of the advantages of electronic logging devices (ELDs) is they help a driver stay in compliance with hours of service (HOS) rules. However, if the rules change, the ELD needs to be reprogrammed. This is something that might require management’s assistance.
ELDs offer a lot of benefits to carriers and drivers alike, but they don’t remove the human element. All carriers need to stay on top of HOS rules. 1-22-16 By Elliot Maras
