Safety Insights
FMCSA to `review and reconsider' 2008 Hours of Service rule On Oct. 26, Public Citizen and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra-tion (FMCSA) filed a joint motion to hold the challenge to the current Hours of Service (HOS) rule in abeyance pending the issuance of a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by FMCSA. The joint motion states that FMCSA has decided to review and reconsider the current HOS rule issued in 2008. In light of the deci-sion to reconsider the rule, Public Citizen and FMCSA have agreed that FMCSA will sub-mit the NPRM to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review nine months from Oct. 26 and that FMCSA will publish a final rule within 21 months. It is expected that the court will grant the joint motion. Until a new final rule is pub-lished, the current HOS rule remains in place. ATA officials pledge to participate in the rulemaking process to vigorously defend the safety aspects of the existing rule document-ed by overwhelming data, noting that since the current rule went into affect, fatalities de-creased 19 percent in 2008 compared with 2004 and the number of injuries experienced in 2007 decreased 13 percent from 2004. National ATA supports current HOS rule, citing industry's recent safety record The Alabama Trucking Association partici-pated in a conference call October 29 when American Trucking Associations' staff briefed state affiliates regarding recent developments in the hours-of-service (HOS) litigation. The conference call was held in response to a joint motion to the Court by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra-tion (FMCSA) and Public Citizen in which the groups asked the court to hold Public Citizen's challenge to the current HOS rule in abeyance pending the issuance of a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by FMCSA. National ATA decided not to consent to the motion, so as not to imply any agree-ment that the current rule needed to be reviewed, but also not to object to the motion because procedurally, the Court is unlikely to force parties to litigate a case they were trying to resolve through settle-ment. Consequently, National ATA formally took no position on the motion. However, outside the litigation process, National ATA intends to forcefully alert the U.S. Department of Transportation of its con-cerns with this further review of the rules, cit-ing the trucking industry's exceptional safety record under the current rules, as well as the operational and financial importance of the rules to the trucking industry. It was also communicated that in the new rulemaking process (which is to result in a NPRM being submitted to the Office of Management and Budget within 9 months and a new final rule issued within 21 months), National ATA would again R R OUNDUP OUNDUP T T R R U C K I N G U C K I N G I I N D U S T R N D U S T R Y Y Alabama governor honors truck drivers Governor Bob Riley recently tipped his hat to America's professional truck drivers by declaring Nov. 1-7, 2009 as National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW) in Alabama. With Alabama Road Team members Jerry McAdams and Louie Haynes flanking him, Gov. Riley signed an official proclamation in which he acknowledged and commended the importance of professional truck drivers to our well-being and the economic value of their industry to Alabama. Alabama Trucking Association Chairman Skip Williams was pleased that the governor, who owned a trucking company before being elected in 2002, acknowledged industry's most valuable asset: the professional driver. As a fleet owner, I am so thankful for the hard-working men and women who keep my business rolling, said Williams. Drivers rarely receive the recognition they deserve for the professional manner in which they per-form their jobs. They really are the most important part of a trucking business. Obviously, our governor feels the same way I do. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, there are more than 3.5 million professional truck drivers nationwide delivering the goods U.S. consumers need every day of the year. These drivers log more than 432 billion miles per year, deliv-ering 10.7 billion tons of freight in 2007, or 69 percent of total U.S. freight tonnage. Professional truck drivers are more essential to the national economy than ever before, and they're delivering their loads safely and professionally. Meanwhile, here in Alabama truck drivers safely deliver more than 653,102 tons of freight each day to more than 86 percent of Alabama communities. Continued on page 20 Alabama Governor Bob Riley prepares to sign a proclamation declaring Nov. 1-7, 2009 as Truck Driver Appreciation Week in Alabama. Standing with the governor are Alabama Road Team members Jerry McAdams (left) of AAA Cooper Transportation and Louie Haynes of Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC. ATA_4Q09.qxp 12/1/09 03:17 PM Page 16