Federal agency keeps trucker hours rule despite appeals court decision News
Federal agency keeps trucker hours rule despite appeals court decision

[JURIST] Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [official website] officials announced [press release] Friday that the rule allowing truckers to stay behind the wheel for 11 hours straight will not be changed, despite a federal appeals court decision overturning the rule. Rather, the hours of service regulations [FMCSA backgrounder] now require truckers taking a break in a sleeper berth to spend at least 8 consecutive hours in it, rather than splitting the break time between sleep and time off. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the rule [PDF opinion; JURIST report] last year as arbitrary and capricious and safety groups and truckers have assailed the 11-hour requirement as unsafe. AP has more.