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DOT/FMCSA RIN: 2126-AA23 Publication ID: Fall 2000 
Title: Hours of Service of Drivers; Driver Rest and Sleep for Safe Operations(Rulemaking Resulting From a Section 610 Review) 
Abstract: This action would revise the regulations for commercial motor vehicle driver rest requirements and duty period limitations for safe highway transportation. A broad rulemaking is required by the ICC Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA). Other congressional actions prior to the ICCTA require modifications to the current rules. This rulemaking responds to public and congressional interest in regulating commercial motor vehicle driver rest requirements, the NTSB's safety recommendations, petitions for rulemaking, and scientific data. There is substantial public and congressional interest in the regulation of medium- and heavy-duty truck and bus drivers' sleep, off-duty, and working periods of time. The FMCSA has proposed new rules based upon comments and scientific data submitted to the advance notice of proposed rulemaking docket. The proposal includes an initial regulatory flexibility analysis, a cost-benefit analysis, an unfunded mandates analysis, and a paperwork reduction analysis. This action is considered significant because of substantial public and congressional interest. 
Agency: Department of Transportation(DOT)  Priority: Economically Significant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Long-Term Actions 
Major: Yes  Unfunded Mandates: Private Sector 
RFA Section 610 Review: Rulemaking Resulting From a Section 610 Review 
CFR Citation: 49 CFR 1.73    49 CFR 395   
Legal Authority: 49 USC 31136    49 USC 31502    PL 84-939    PL 98-554    PL 103-311    PL 104-59    PL 74-255    PL 106-159    PL 104-88    PL 106-159   
Legal Deadline:
Action Source Description Date
Final  Statutory  PL 104-88,sec.408(b).  11/05/1999 
NPRM  Statutory  PL 104-88, sec. 408(b).  11/05/1997 
Other  Statutory  ANPRM. PL 104-88,sec.408(a).  03/01/1996 
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
ANPRM  11/05/1996  61 FR 57251   
Notice of Meeting  02/11/1997  62 FR 6161   
ANPRM Comment Period End  03/31/1997    
Next Action Undetermined      
Additional Information: Transferred from RIN 2125-AD93. During the agency's broad section 610 review of the 65-year history of the rule and all its amendments and revisions, the agency identified that RINs 2125-AD52, 2125-AD81, 2126-AA16, and 2126-AA29 also contain pertinent actions that must be incorporated into this action. Therefore, the agency incorporated them and has published a combined proposal addressing the entire topic of hours-of-service of drivers and related recordkeeping issues. The DOT Docket Management System now identifies this rulemaking as number FMCSA-1997-2350. More Information on "ALTERNATIVES": The FMCSA is proposing a revision to the hours-of-service regulations to require motor carriers to provide their drivers with better opportunities to obtain sleep than the current rules, and thereby reduce the risk of drivers operating CMVs while fatigued and reduce the number of crashes involving these drivers. We estimate that 755 fatalities and 19,705 injuries occur each year on the Nation's roads because of drowsy, tired or fatigued CMV drivers. The proposed rules would make three major changes. First, and most importantly, the new rules would be science-based (related to sleep cycles) and put all drivers in a 24-hour daily cycle. Second, they would reduce the total number of hours behind the wheel in a given 24-hour cycle to no more than 12 hours. Under current rules, a driver can reach the 60-hour on-duty limit in less than 4 days, and the 70-hour limit in less than 5 days. Third, long-haul and regional drivers (who spend one or more off-duty periods away from their normal work reporting locations) would be required, eventually, to use electronic on-board recording devices (EOBRs). These proposed changes would abandon a one-size-fits-all approach to work-rest cycles and adopt different rest periods for different types of operations. The NPRM is a proposal. The FMCSA has extensively solicited public comments at 8 public hearings. Continuing the public dialogue is critical to a complete understanding of the issues and insuring that FMCSA can make reasoned and appropriate decisions about the next steps in the rulemaking process.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes  Government Levels Affected: Federal, Local, State 
Small Entities Affected: Businesses, Governmental Jurisdictions, Organizations  Federalism: Yes 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
Agency Contact:
Lee Payne
Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Division of Insurance
Department of Transportation
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
MC-ECI, 400 Virginia Avenue SW., Suite 600,
Washington, DC 20024
Phone:202 358-7029
Fax:202 358-7100