Safety Groups' Suit Pressures DOT To Act On Safety Rules
New hours of service rules now due May 31 following action by PATT, CRASH and Teamsters For A Democratic Union.
By Oliver B. Patton,
Washington Editor
Under pressure by safety groups, the Department of Transportation has agreed to deadlines for finishing five long-overdue truck safety rules.
The department was prodded to action by Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), Public Citizen, Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT) and Teamsters for a Democratic Union. They sued last fall, charging that DOT failed to meet congressional deadlines for completing work on the rules.
In a settlement agreement signed late in February, DOT said it would issue its truck driver hours of service rule by May 31. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has finished a final draft of the rule. It is being reviewed at the White House Office of Management and Budget, and could be released any time.
Another rule will set minimum training standards for drivers of longer combination vehicles. Congress had ordered a finished rule by 1993. DOT agreed to publish a final rule by May 31, 2004.
The third rule, also due by May 31 of 2004, will set training standards for entry-level drivers. Notice of the proposed rule is due by Nov. 1 this year. This rule, too, was due in 1993.
The fourth rule concerns background information on drivers, and is due by March 30, 2004. The fifth covers permits for hazmat transport, and is due by June 30, 2004.
DOT also agreed to issue reports every other month on the progress it is making on all the rules.
Washington Report continued...
