FMCSA to Hold Listening and Online Sessions on Proposed Change to Hours of Service Requirements
The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced that it will hold a public listening session to solicit comments and information on its recently-proposed rule to amend the hours of service requirements for drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). The session will be held on February 17, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. EST at the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport, 1480 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. The session will end sooner if all participants who intend to provide input have done so. In conjunction with this listening session, the FMCSA will hold an online comment and question forum. The agency will post information on how to participate online and via telephone here.
According to the summary to be published in Monday’s edition of the Federal Register, the FMCSA seeks information as to what factors, issues, and data it should consider as it analyzes responses to its proposed rule. A list of specific questions the agency seeks responses to can be found in the Federal Register notice.
Seventy-seven bus and truck drivers are banned from operating commercial motor vehicles and 84 commercial carriers face enforcement charges as a result of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) first national drug and alcohol strike force. During a 10-day period in September, FMCSA safety investigators examined the drug and alcohol safety records of commercial drivers employed by bus companies, including school bus drivers, interstate passenger carriers, hazardous material transporters and general freight long-haul trucking companies. This enforcement action is the first time that the FMCSA has ever proactively looked for operators and drivers that violate the agency’s drug and alcohol regulations.
After a lengthy public comment period and legal challenges, a 