Reps. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Tom Petri (R-Wis.) on Wednesday requested that the Government Accountability Office evaluate studies that were used to justify a federal hours of service rule for commercial truck drivers.
The HOS reset rule, which was established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in July 2013, requires commercial drivers to be off-duty for 34 hours after reaching their weekly driving limit.
Shuster, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Petri, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, requested the review in a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.
“I continue to hear concerns from drivers and companies in Wisconsin and around the country about the impact of this 34-hour restart,” Petri said. “We need to make sure the requirements are based on sound facts and actually improve safety rather than just overwhelm the industry with another onerous regulation.”
Shuster and Petri requested that the GAO evaluate whether the FMCSA collected sufficient safety and operational data, information on the number of and type of drivers who are identified as commercial drivers and additional analysis of daytime truck traffic safety outcomes.
“Millions of American truckers are critical to the flow of commerce in our country, and we have to be certain that any changes to regulations impacting their ability to properly do their jobs and earn a living are well founded,” Shuster said. “
Shuster and Petri requested that the GAO evaluate the key assumptions of the data and methodology used by the FMCSA in its regulatory impact analysis to justify the new HOS rule.