ATA wants DOT and FMCSA to abandon hours of service change

ARLINGTON, VA -- The American Trucking Associations today called on the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, to abandon their proposed changes to the hours-of-service rules following the release of new data showing significant declines in truck-related crashes.

"Since FMCSA began its effort to revise these rules, we have said the current rules are working. The Obama Administration's own data now supports that belief," ATA President and CEO Bill Gravessaid. "Since the agency first changed the hours rules in 2004, the truck-involved fatality rate has dropped by 36% - nearly twice as fast as the overall fatality rate on our highways – and that's not a coincidence: the current rules are working." 

The ATA statement further encouraged the implementation of EOBRs: "FMCSA should move forward with its proposed requirement for electronic logs and focus on ensuring all carriers follow the rules."