President Signs Restart Rollback Bill: Here’s What The Law Requires Of FMCSA

President signs restart rollback bill: Here’s what the law requires of FMCSA

President Barack Obama Dec. 16 signed the appropriations bill that halts enforcement of the requirement that a drivers’ 34-hour restart include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods and the once-per-week limit of the restart.

Though the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is required by the law to produce a Federal Register notice to alert drivers, enforcers and other stakeholders of the change, the stay of enforcement is now legally in effect, meaning truck operators no longer have to abide by the restart provisions put in place in July 2013.

Aside from the suspension of the restart provisions, however, the law requires FMCSA to study the rules’ impacts on drivers, carriers and safety. The agency must present a report to Congress concluding the rules boost safety before the restart provisions can go back into effect.

Research is directed to determine whether the 2013 restart provisions “provide a greater net benefit for the operational, safety, health and fatigue impacts” they cause, according to the bill.

The funding law requires FMCSA to study two groups of drivers (“each large enough to produce statistically significant results,” the bill notes) — one that operates under post-2013 restart restrictions and one that operates under pre-2013 restart provisions. And after at least five months of study, the agency should compare the groups based on “safety critical events” such as crashes and the overall fatigue levels of the drivers studied.

The law stipulates that the agency use drivers from a range of applications and fleet sizes and gauge their fatigue levels using Psychomotor Vigilance Tests, actigraph watches and cameras and “other on-board monitoring systems that record or measure safety critical events and driver alertness,” according to the law’s text.

Upon completion of the data collection phase, FMCSA must produce a final report to send to a review panel consisting of “individuals with relevant medical and scientific expertise.”

Throughout the entire process, the DOT’s Office of Inspector General must keep tabs on the agency to ensure the methodology used in the data collection is appropriate and the panel to review the study is qualified.

FMCSA must submit a first report to the DOT OIG within 60 days of the Dec. 16 signing of the bill, outlining how it plans to execute the study. Within 30 days of receipt of the report, the OIG must report back to the agency and House and Senate committees with any changes.

Within 210 days of receiving the OIG’s recommendation, FMCSA must produce its final report based on its research.

The OIG must then review the report and within 60 days tell the agency and Congressional committees if the agency complied with the requirements of the funding law.

The agency must also make its report available to House and Senate committees and post it online.

After it addresses any concerns of the OIG — and if it concludes the restart provisions enhance safety — the agency will be cleared to enforce the 2013 restart restrictions again.

Since this is only a temporary rollback, I am curious how this will affect training & testing for newbies over the coming weeks and months?

I'm sure it will be up to the trucking companies. Not enforcing a law is much different than repealing a law. If it is a "law" this ****head can't "repeal" it. If it is just a DOT requirement he could pressure them to get rid of it. Either way "no enforcing " doesn't make it legal.

If it is a "law" this ****head can't "repeal" it.

If you'd take your "hate lenses" off long enough to see the light you'd realize repealing the law actually helps truckers. But I probably digress from Obama bashing because that's so much more important than the impact this will have on drivers. Geez.....

Anyhow, glad they're repealing those restrictions for now anyhow. Now if we could get them to do away with the 14 hour rule, that would be awesome!

If you'd take your "hate lenses" off long enough to see the light you'd realize repealing the law actually helps trucks.

I love your phrasing on that!... Oh Geez, "hate lenses" I chuckle out loud every time I read it.

If it is a "law" this ****head can't "repeal" it.

If you'd take your "hate lenses" off long enough to see the light you'd realize repealing the law actually helps truckers. But I probably digress from Obama bashing because that's so much more important than the impact this will have on drivers. Geez.....

Anyhow, glad they're repealing those restrictions for now anyhow. Now if we could get them to do away with the 14 hour rule, that would be awesome!

I thought you were my favorite person here, so far, this just proved i was right \

I had posted about this earlier. Apparently - posts from Anchorman get more attention than mine (LOL).

As far as the guy that everyone hates goes (and I join in the intense dislike), this bill was amendment added to the Omnibus Appropriations bill that was passed by both houses - and was , merely signed into law by said disliked individual.

So he had no say in the matter one way or the other (save for if he decided to veto the entire bill). So the "political hating" (much as I enjoy it myself), has zero to do with this suspension of the rules.

The temporary suspension of the rules - are in effect until October of 2015, by which time FMCSA is supposed to produce the study mandated by the amendment, submit it for review by the OIG, which in turn presents the results to congress. Should FMCSA/et al - fault produce a report justifying the 34 hour reset rule of 2013 - I suspect congress will extend the suspension of it.

Text of the Collins amendment can be found here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/231008854/Collins-HOS-Amendment

Since truckers operate at various hours of day/night - disregarding normal sleep cycle/rhythms around day/night driving - the purpose of having a reset where you are required to be "down" for two periods of 1-5AM, is to reset your "body clock" to a normal cycle. For night drivers - this could be a BAD THING - actually leading to more fatigue during the early morning hours, as the reset would cause your body to think it's "supposed to be sleeping" during this time. Kind of like JET LAG.

Loads/routing and THE DRIVER - are the ones to best determine what hours to be driving in order to get the load to destination in a timely & safe manner. An FMSCA rule on resets, screws with the drivers ability to do this - and is one of the great many interferences that are supposed made "in the interest of safety", that can actually end up having the REVERSE EFFECT.

Rick

The Law of Unintended Consequence is something that our government agencies do not understand...much the same as "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Should FMCSA/et al - fault produce a report justifying the 34 hour reset rule of 2013 - I suspect congress will extend the suspension of it.

Phrasing like this and words like "et al" should NOT be allowed on this website . . . it just confuses people . . . you "suspect???" That makes me a bit more suspicious of you, Sir!! (What kind of truck driver thinks like that, let alone TALKS like that . . . )

Jopa (ever suspicious and on guard against . . . WHATEVER!)

Since this is only a temporary rollback, I am curious how this will affect training & testing for newbies over the coming weeks and months?

I am out with my mentor know, the changes I found out about and he was like ignore that for now