On 7/31/2012, the NAM and 14 other business associations filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in this consolidated case involving the regulation of hours of service for commercial truck drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued new rules in December, 2011, and lawsuits were filed by the American Trucking Associations challenging provisions relating to rest periods and non-driving work, and by Public Citizen, challenging the 14-hour driving window and the 11-hour daily driving provision. We supported ATA's case and opposed Public Citizen's.
Our brief noted that even small changes in the Hours of Service rules have an effect on the complex and interwoven distribution systems involving scheduling, logistics, route planning, and inventory control. We supported the effort to overturn that portion of the rules that changed the 34-hour restart provisions, as the changes were not supported by adequate evidence in the rulemaking record. The agency failed to consider substantial costs on entities other than motor carriers, such as manufacturers, and failed to consider the effects of the rule changes on night drivers, congestion, and safety. In addition, a requirement that drivers go off-duty for 30-minute breaks, rather than to log the break time as "on-duty, not driving" will impose significant costs on shippers, receivers and consumers.
The NAM brief supported the agency's decision to retain an 11-hour driving time limit. Evidence in the record justified this limit, and the costs of lowering the limit would significantly outweigh any purported benefits.
The NAM filed comments with FMCSA in March, 2011, supporting the 11-hour driving limit and opposing changes that would have a negative impact on supply chains, distribution operations and productivity.
On 8/2/13, the court upheld most of the rules. It upheld the 11-hours daily driving limit, the prohibition on driving after 8 hours on duty without a 30-minute break, and the requirement that the 34-hour reset may only be used once a week and must include two periods of 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The court did accept the ATA's challenge to the 30-minute break requirement for short haul drivers, finding that the agency failed to explain and justify its decision. The decision largely relies on the principle that courts will generally defer to the decisions of regulatory agencies as long as there is a rational connection between the facts found and choice made, and the agency explains why it made the choices it did.