Blumenthal, Markey Blast Administration for Weakening Truck Driver Safety Standards

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) issued the following joint statement after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the final changes to federal truck driver hours of service (HOS) rules.

“It is unacceptable that the administration is weakening road safety standards and playing into the hands of the industry. Extending driver work hours while cutting their rest puts everyone on the roads – including the truck drivers – at grave risk. This rule runs counter to findings from the top federal transportation safety agency, which has repeatedly found fatigue as a contributing factor to truck crashes. The administration must immediately reverse course and focus on tightening these standards to ensure our driving public is safe.”

Current HOS rules allow drivers to be on the road for up to 11 hours during a 14 hour workday. Today’s final rule would have drivers behind the wheel for up to 14 hours in a single day without a federally protected off-duty break. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has repeatedly cited fatigue as a major contributor to truck crashes and new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show increased truck crash fatalities for the fifth year in a row.

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