Court Nixes Higher Limits on Truck Driving Hours

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled against a Bush administration directive that would have allowed big rig truck drivers to drive many more consecutive hours.

All three judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration -- the federal agency overseeing the trucking industry -- hadn't gave enough evidence to show the safety of its 2005 decision to increase the maximum driving time of truckers. The hours were increased from 60 to 77 over 7 consecutive days and from 77 to 88 hours over 8 days.

The court found the FMCSA ignored the results of a study it commissioned. When extrapolated, the study -- using the data of more than 50,000 truck accidents from 1991 to 2002 -- showed a greater risk of fatigue-related accidents during the extended hours of service allowed by the new rules.

Opponents of the changes, led by safety advocates and insurance analysts, say longer driving hours lead to a higher number of truck-related accidents. Around 100 people die per week in trucking related accidents.

Kenneth N. Margolin, Esq. of InjuryBoard.com says of the ruling:

The Appeals Court held that the federal agency had not justified the change in rules, in light of data that showed the trucking industry to be amongst the most dangerous, and fatalities in accidents involving large trucks to be far more likely than those involving cars alone. Naturally, the rules change was pressed by the trucking industry, which consistently ignores the data regarding trucking fatalities, and places profits ahead of quality of life and safety on our roadways.

Proponents of the loosened restrictions say they have made it cheaper and faster to move goods around the country. Shorter hours, they contend, would place more inexperienced truck drivers behind the wheel.

LifeOnTheRoad.com seems to believe that the trucking industry knows what's best for itself:

Perhaps it’s time for us all to look for another line of work and allow the know it alls at PATT, CRASH, Public Citizen and the rest, who seem to know better than us, what we need, to operate the U.S. trucking industry

-Dippold

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