Hours of Service of Drivers

T.F. Scott Darling, III
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
December 22, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 245 (Monday, December 22, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76241-76242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30028]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 395


Hours of Service of Drivers

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of suspension of enforcement.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA suspends enforcement of certain sections of the Agency's 
Hours of Service (HOS) rules as required by the Consolidated and 
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, enacted December 16, 2014. 
Specifically, FMCSA suspends the requirements regarding the restart of 
a driver's 60- or 70-hour limit that drivers were required to comply 
with beginning July 1, 2013. The restart provisions have no force or 
effect from the date of enactment of the Appropriations Act through the 
period of suspension, and such provisions are replaced with the 
previous restart provisions in effect on June 30, 2013. FMCSA provides 
this notification to motor carriers, commercial drivers, State Motor 
Carrier Safety Assistance Program grant recipients and other law 
enforcement personnel of these immediate enforcement changes.

DATES: The suspension of enforcement of Sec.  395.3(c) and (d) is 
effective as of 12:01 a.m. on December 16, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dee Williams, Chief, Compliance 
Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 
20590-

[[Page 76242]]

0001. Telephone (202) 366-1812 or Dee.Williams@dot.gov. Office hours 
are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 27, 2011, FMCSA published a 
final rule titled ``Hours of Service of Drivers.'' [76 FR 81134.] The 
rule revised the HOS regulations and imposed certain limits on the use 
of the 34-hour restart provision (49 CFR 395.3(c)-(d)). Compliance with 
the revised restart provision began on July 1, 2013.
    On December 16, 2014, the President signed the Consolidated and 
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, which provides FY 2015 
appropriations to the U.S. Department of Transportation, including 
FMCSA. Section 133(a) of Title I of Division K of the Act declares that 
49 CFR 395.3(c) and (d) ``shall have no force or effect from the date 
of enactment of this Act until the later of September 30, 2015, or upon 
submission of the final report issued by the Secretary [of 
Transportation] under this section. The restart provisions in effect on 
June 30, 2013, shall be in effect during this period.'' Section 133(a) 
also prohibits FMCSA from using any of the funds appropriated or 
otherwise made available by the Act to enforce Sec.  395.3(c) and (d).
    Section 395.3(c) allows drivers to restart the calculation of their 
60- or 70-hour limit by taking an off-duty period of at least 34 
consecutive hours, including two periods from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. 
Under Sec.  395.3(d), only one restart authorized by Sec.  395.3(c) is 
allowed per week (168 hours), measured from the beginning of the 
previous restart period.
    The restart provisions in effect on June 30, 2013, on the other 
hand, allowed drivers to restart their 60- or 70-hour calculation by 
taking at least 34 consecutive hours off duty, without any additional 
limitations. Drivers are therefore authorized, as of 12:01 a.m. on 
December 16, 2014, to resume use of the previous, unlimited restart 
provision.
    While the suspension of enforcement provision does not preempt 
State law, in order to maintain enforcement activities and regulations 
compatible with the Federal law and regulation, the funding 
restrictions prohibit all agencies that receive Federal grant funds 
under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) from using 
MCSAP funding to engage in any enforcement activities based on the two 
restart restrictions that went into effect on July 1, 2013.
    Because Section 133 temporarily suspends, but does not rescind, 
Sec.  395.3(c) and (d), no changes are being made to the text of those 
provisions. The Act requires the Agency to perform ``a naturalistic 
study of the operational, safety, health and fatigue impacts'' of those 
restart provisions. The suspension of the restart rules that took 
effect on July 1, 2013, and the availability to drivers of the restart 
rules in effect on June 30, 2013, will continue until the end of Fiscal 
Year 2015 (September 30) or until the final report on the naturalistic 
study has been submitted to the House and Senate Committees on 
Appropriations, whichever is later.
    FMCSA will provide public notice of the date when the temporary 
suspension ends and Sec.  395.3(c) and (d) regain their legal force and 
effect.

    Issued on: December 17, 2014.
T.F. Scott Darling, III,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-30028 Filed 12-18-14; 4:15 pm]
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