Obama Administration’s Final Hours-of-Service Rule Puts Safety in the Backseat

DOT released a final rule governing hours-of-service for professional truck drivers that will become effective July 1, 2013 for interstate motor carriers and professional drivers. ATA expressed frustration and disappointment that the rule will do nothing to improve highway safety, but will very likely increase the risk of truck-involved crashes. Since the current rules went into effect in 2004, fatalities have fallen 29.9%, even as overall miles traveled for trucks increased by tens of billions of miles. The new rule will put more truck traffic onto the roadways during morning rush hour, when the largest percentage of truck-involved crashes occur between 6 a.m. and noon. For more information click here. To see a summary of changes, click here