ATA Says FMCSA Manipulates HOS Fatigue Factor

ARLINGTON, VA -- In an effort to rationalize a change in federal Hours of Service (HOS) requirements for professional truck drivers, the U.S. DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) misapplied its own crash numbers so as to elevate driver fatigue as a cause of truck crashes, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said today.

"Since the current HOS rules were introduced in 2003, the trucking industry has achieved a continually improving safety record, reaching the lowest fatality and injury rate levels in recorded history," said ATA President Bill Graves. "It is troubling that this complex, restrictive set of proposed rules is founded on what appears to be incorrect analysis and inflated math."

Using these data manipulations, FMCSA has nearly doubled in its analysis of the number of truck-involved crashes that are likely caused by fatigue. The ATA further claims that the FMCSA has engaged in "creative" accounting in other areas of the new proposed HOS rules to justify its current position.

The ATA intends to continue offering its own analysis of the FMCSA's data manipulations.

From PRNewswire. Also see story at The Trucker and Truck Driver News