As the end of this year is quickly approaching, the American Trucking Association has many key items on its agenda for next year. Undoing the current hours-of-service rules, enforcing an electronic log mandate, and making changes to improve driver respect are some of the key components the ATA plans to focus on in 2014, according to Chairman Phil Byrd.
Byrd recently spoke to several fleet executives about the ATA’s Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program at the Commercial Carrier Journal’s Fall Symposium. During the discussion, he mentioned how the ATA has partnered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to help fix the flaws of the CSA program. Byrd also explained how the ATA will be trying to pass the TRUE Safety Act, which would undo the hours rule enacted July 1.
Backed by bi-partisan support, the TRUE Safety Act was introduced in the U.S House on Oct. 31 with hopes of reversing the current hours of service rule and enabling truckers to abide by the hours rules that were put in place prior to the July 1 changes. Under the TRUE Safety Act, the current hours rule would be put on hold until further review by the Government Accountability Office. The delay would enable the GAO to investigate the rationale used by the FMCSA to create the 34-hour restart provisions in the new rules.
Upon passage of the bill, the GAO would have to perform the study, and the FMCSA would not be able to re-enact the July 1 restart provisions until six months after the GAO submitted its findings to Congress. Rep. Richard Hanna, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the act would enable Congress and the GAO to thoroughly examine the regulations to make sure they make sense for the economy and traveling public.
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