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Public Citizen, FMCSA agree on continued delay of HOS lawsuit

The lawsuit that sent the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration back to the drawing board on the hours-of-service regs will remain on hold until a final rule is published.

In a filing on Jan. 27 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Public Citizen and FMCSA asked the court for “an order continuing to hold proceedings in abeyance pending the issuance of a final rule.”

The joint motion states that within 30 days of the publication of the final rule, the parties will file motions that will govern further proceedings.

On March 9, 2009, the third chapter in the HOS saga kicked off when four groups filed a lawsuit asking that the current version of the regulation be tossed. Filing suit were Public Citizen, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and the Truck Safety Coalition.

FMCSA and the plaintiffs were granted a joint motion by the court on Oct. 26, 2009, to delay legal action in order to allow FMCSA to craft new HOS regs.

The most recent filing asking the court to continue the “time out” of the trial came the day before FMCSA announced it would be turning to the public once again for input.

The agency will host a public listening session Feb. 17 in Arlington, VA, on its regulatory proposal that would revise hours of service.

The public listening session will be held at the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport Hotel, 1480 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA. The entire listening session will be webcast live at www.fmcsa.dot.gov .

Additionally, as part of the webcast, FMCSA officials will take online comments and questions from the public starting at noon until midnight Eastern.

The goal of the listening session is to gather a broad range of comments, ideas and relevant data as the agency analyzes responses to its HOS regulatory proposal issued on Dec. 23, 2010.

For more information, visit the FMCSA website or contact David Miller, FMCSA Office of Policy Plans and Regulation at 202-366-5011.

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