Court Throws Out New Trucker Driving Rules

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday threw out new U.S.
government regulations allowing commercial truck drivers to spend more time
on the road without taking a break.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found the first
major rewrite of the hours of service rule in more than 60 years was
"arbitrary and capricious" because the Transportation Department failed to
consider driver health.

"Its failure to do so, standing alone, requires us to vacate the entire
rule," the three-judge panel said in unanimously ordering the
Transportation Department to rewrite the regulation.

"It means back to the drawing board," said Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, the lead
attorney for Public Citizen in the legal challenge by consumer and safety
groups. "We got what we asked for."

The court also questioned whether key provisions, like driving time and
rest guidelines, would pass legal muster.

The rule took shape slowly and was one of the most sweeping and most
anticipated regulatory actions undertaken by the Transportation Department
in years. But critics complained the Bush administration weakened key
aspects, including minimum rest periods, when it was approved in April
2003.

But regulators stood by the initiative that took effect in January. "We
believe it is an important safety tool, but we'll have to look further into
the court's decision to see where we go from here," Transportation
Department spokesman Robert Johnson said.

The government has 45 days to weigh any legal challenge of its own. During
that time, the new rule remains in effect.

The new rule cut two hours off a trucker's allowable work day, including
unloading and breaks, to 14 hours but permitted drivers to be on the road
for 11 consecutive hours, up one hour. It also permitted truckers to work
up to 77 hours in seven days, or 88 hours in eight days - a more than 25
percent increase over the old rule.

It was aimed at increasing productivity and reducing fatigue, which can
cause accidents. Regulators estimated the rule would save up to 75 lives
and prevent up to 1,300 fatigue-related crashes annually.

Deaths in large truck crashes, most involving other vehicles, were
virtually unchanged in 2003 at 3,849, according to U.S. safety statistics.
Truck drivers and their passengers accounted for roughly 20 percent of
those fatalities.

Consumer, labor and safety groups argued that extending allowable driving
time, even though a driver's overall day was shorter, would not improve
safety.

"The more you work these drivers with longer hours, (the more) it increases
the risk," said Gerald Donaldson, senior research director at
Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "If a trucker loses
control on the highway it's like a giant bowling ball taking out everything
in its path."

The trucking industry reassured consumers deliveries, at least for the next
several weeks, would not be interrupted.

"We stand by the current rule because it does provide more rest time and we
think (it) can improve driver health," said Mike Russell, a spokesman for
the American Trucking Associations, the chief trade group for trucking
companies.

Russell said companies have to operate more efficiently under the rule,
especially when loading and unloading goods. He also said firms are looking
to hire more drivers to cover gaps created by new rest guidelines.

In addition to thousands of others, the rule affects 250,000 members of the
Teamsters union. "While the Teamsters always agreed that the DOT was long
overdue on issuing new safety rules, the government's approach resulted in
rules that hurt rather than helped Teamster members," said the union's
government affairs director, Mike Mathis.