Public Citizen Group Considering HOS Suit

      Public Citizen is considering taking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to court – again – over the new hours of service rule.
      Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, said she is waiting for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's response to a petition to reconsider the rule before she decides whether or not to sue.
      "One step at a time," Claybrook said.
      In its petition, the safety advocacy group challenged practically every aspect of the rule. It said the agency did not justify longer weekly hours, the 11th hour of driving time, the 34-hour restart or the possibility of a 21-hour shift schedule. It also opposes short-haul drivers working 16-hour shifts two days a week, and it wants the agency to expedite its rulemaking for onboard electronic recorders.
      Joining Public Citizen in the petition are a number of allied organizations, including Parents Against Tired Truckers, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and the Teamsters union.
      Public Citizen was the lead complainant in a 2004 suit that led to a court finding that the 2003 rule was illegal and must be rewritten. This led to a year of watching and waiting as the agency considered its options and put together the revised rule that it posted last August.
      Claybrook was scathing in her assessment of the new rule. FMCSA "should be embarrassed by what they have done," she said. "This fight is going to go on and we are going to win."

Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Washington Report continued...