As reported in Lawyers Weekly USA: “The Bush administration has reinstated rules extending the allowable driving hours for commercial, long-haul truckers, despite a D.C. Circuit decision last July finding the rules “arbitrary and capricious” and a threat to drivers’ health.”
The new rules, which go into effect October 1, 2005, increase the legal driving time for long-haul truckers from 10 to 11 consecutive hours. Drivers will now be allowed to drive 60 hours in a seven day week, or 70 hours in an eight day period. Perhaps most surprisingly, the rules completely eliminate a requirement that short-haul drivers keep a log of the hours they drive.
The new rules are opposed by most consumer advocacy groups, and by plaintiff lawyers.
