Drivers Can Improve Safety and Increase Schedule Flexibility with CMV Proposal
Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers could have more flexible schedules while increasing road safety according to a proposed Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) notice.
As of yesterday, the FMSCA is now accepting public comments regarding a proposed change to the rule on hours of service (HOS) rules for CMV drivers. The change would ideally increase road safety and allow drivers to have more flexibility during hours of service.
The FMCSA’s previous service rules were adopted in 1937, and many have called for an overdue update on specified permitted operating hours of commercial drivers. In 2018, FMCSA opened the rule proposal to public comments on the portions of HOS rules.
The administration received a total of 5,200 comments, and the newly proposed rule on hours of service has five main revisions to the existing HOS rules:
The Agency proposes to adjust the thirty-minute break rule by typing the break requirement to eight hours of driving time without an interruption for at least thirty minutes
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- The Agency proposes to allow drivers to split their required ten hours off duty into two periods for the sleeper-berth exception: one of at least seven hours and the other of not less than two hours.
- The Agency proposes to adjust the driver’s off-duty break to be at least thirty minutes but not more than three hours.
- The Agency proposes to extend by two hours the permitting driving window.
- The Agency proposes to lengthen the maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours.
For more detailed information regarding the proposed changes, please refer to the FMSCA proposal. FMSCA’s proposed rule is estimated to incite $274 million in savings for the U.S. economy—of which the trucking industry is a key component. The public has forty-five days to offer comments.