Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Sets Listening Sessions on Proposed Hours of Service Rule Change

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has scheduled a public listening session on its proposal to revise hours-of-service (HOS) rules for commercial truck drivers on February 17, 2011 in Arlington, Virginia.

The agency will also webcast the session live with a forum on its website for comments and questions in order to maximize public participation.

The proposed rule change, which I discussed in this blog about six weeks ago, defines a fault line between the trucking industry, which generally claims asserts the proposed changes would excessively restrict the trucking business in already economically difficult time, and safety advocates who say the changes don’t go far enough in reducing driver fatigue.

According to Transportation Department records, driver fatigue accounts for up to 40 percent of all commercial vehicle crashes.

The hearing will be held at the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport hotel at 1480 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202. The live webcast may be viewed by going to www.fmcsa.dot.gov. The session will last from 12 noon until 12 midnight EST.

If you or a loved one have been injured by negligence in operation of a large commercial truck in or from Georgia, contact us today to determine whether you have a claim.

Ken Shigley is an Atlanta, Georgia, trial attorney. He has been designated a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), one of the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend), and rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory. He is author of Georgia Law of Torts: Trial Preparation & Practice (West, 2010), a Certified Civil Trial Attorney of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and currently president-elect of the 42,000 member State Bar of Georgia. He has extensive experience in litigation and trial of cases involving serious personal injury, wrongful death, trucking accidents, automobile accidents, products liability, premises liability, and insurance. Mr. Shigley is a graduate of Furman University and Emory University Law School. This blog post is subject to our ethical disclaimer.