HOS: The final HOS reduces the on-duty time to 13 hours, although once per week the workday could be extended to 14 hours with one-hour off-duty break during the day. The 34 hour restart provision is retained, but the agency is proposing two rest periods from midnight to 6am. The restart would only be allowed once per seven-day period.
EOBRs: OOIDA scored a huge legal victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the FMCSA ignored a federal statute that any regulation imposed for the use of EOBRs in commercial vehicles must ensure that the devices are not used to harass vehicle operators. The court negated FMCSA’s pending EOBR rulemaking that proposed to require all trucks to have EOBRs installed and used for HOS compliance.
However, there is a free-standing bill in the Senate which would mandate electronic on-board recorders for all trucks -- S. 695, was introduced by Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN). The Senate passed S. 1813, also known as MAP 21, on March 14, 2012. The language would mandate that all trucks operate under an electronic on board recorder not later than 1 year after the enactment of the bill. However, the bill also requires that the devices cannot be used to harass drivers.
The Senate and House are negotiating a full highway funding bill which is due June 30 2012.
Detention Time: Throughout all of this regulatory warfare, OOIDA has held the position that if detention time were simply addressed, drivers would feel less pressure to potentially violate the hours of service rules. OOIDA has testified now a number of times before Congress advocating this position and has worked closely with Congressman Peter DeFazio to draft HR 756, a bill that would require the DOT to study the issue and then pass common sense reform making it unlawful for shippers/receivers to excessively detain truckers without compensation.