A Recent Bill Aims to Change the Hours Of Service Rule

U.S. Representative, the Texas congressman Brian Babin (R-Texas-36), one of the members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who was one of the most active in the fight against the electronic logging devices, takes on yet another trucking concern of the controversial kind – the hours of service rules.

Brian Babin proposed The Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers (or just REST) Act on March 29, which would allow truck drivers one daily break each shift of up to three consecutive hours, which would not be counted against their 14-hour on-duty allotment afforded them by the federal Hours of Service rules.

The bill eliminates the required 30-minute rest break, but the truck drivers would still need to log 10 consecutive hours off duty, before the start of their next 14 hours work shift. According to Babin, The Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers Act would modernize hours of service regulations for those working as truck drivers.

“I’m proud to introduce the Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers Act and give America’s truckers the options they need to safely operate under today’s rigid federal regulations,” said Rep. Brian Babin. “This bill is an important step in making the way for improved highway safety.” As we mentioned, Babin is one of the fiercest opponents of the Electronic Logging Devices mandate - in July last year, he introduced the legislation that would have delayed the implementation of the Electronic Logging Devices mandate by two years.

The Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers act requires an update of the Hours of Service regulations, by the Department of Transportation, in order to allow a rest break once per every 14-hour work shift period. The rest period can be as long as three consecutive hours, as long as the truck driver is off-duty, effectively pausing the 14-hour clock.

One of the biggest complains with the current Hours of Service regulations is the inability to stop the 14 hour clock. Some of the truck drivers believe the Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers act would change this. However, there are drivers that share the concern that the new rule leaves much to be desired and will open an exploitation hole for companies to abuse - dictating when their drivers can take their brake, in order to better target delivery and pickup time for their customers. Some drivers see the REST act as a way for the congress to turn the 14-hour work day into a 17-hour work day.

Brian Babin’s bill is supported by the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Associations. The organization recently petitioned for the exact same changes to the hours of service rule, with the proposition of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“We thank Rep. Babin for recognizing the need to address the lack of options for truckers trying to safely operate under today’s overly rigid federal regulations,” said Todd Spencer, acting president and CEO of the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Associations. “We want to see improvements to highway safety and what we have right now isn’t going to get that done.”