ATA praises US Senate Appropriations Committee for adopting amendment that would suspend for one year new rules that prevent some drivers from taking a restart on weekends, creating more traffic congestion during daytime hours

Cindy Allen

ARLINGTON, Virginia , June 5, 2014 (press release) – Today, American Trucking Associations leaders applauded the Senate Appropriations Committee for adopting a common sense solution proposed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to address the unjustified changes to the restart provisions of the hours-of-service restart rules.

“Since these rules were proposed in 2010, ATA has maintained that they were unsupported by science and since they were implemented in 2013 the industry and economy have experienced substantial negative effects as a result,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Today, thanks to Senator Collins’ leadership, we are a step closer to reversing these damaging, unjustified regulations.”

The Collins Amendment, which was adopted today, would suspend, for a year, the new restart rules that push more trucks onto the road during daytime hours, a consequence the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration failed to fully analyze from a safety standpoint.

“America expects its freight to be moved, and these new rules prevent some drivers from taking a restart over the weekend,” said ATA Chairman Phil Byrd, president of Bulldog Hiway Express, Charleston, S.C, “and as a result, they need to take their restart midweek leading to shipping delays and costs.

“And if you’re fortunate enough to be able to take your restart over a weekend, it exacerbates congestion because this regulation dumps concentrated amounts of trucks on the highway system at 5:01 a.m. Monday morning when America is heading off to work and school,” Byrd said.

“This is not the end of this debate,” said Dave Osiecki, ATA executive vice president and head of national advocacy, “but thanks to the hard work of ATA’s members, the professional staff, ATA’s federation partners and the courage and leadership of Sen. Collins and others on Capitol Hill, we are one step closer to reversing these damaging regulations.”

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation’s freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward

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