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PHOTOS:FMCSA Hours of Service listening session

FMCSA's "heavy hitters" attended the agency's first public "listening session" to gather comments for its third effort in 10 years to revise HOS rules

David Osiecki, vp-safety & operations for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), staked out the trucking industry's position on the current HOS rules -- namely, that they are largely a success in terms of balancing safety and operation efficiency. Betw

David Osiecki, vp-safety & operations for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), staked out the trucking industry's position on the current HOS rules -- namely, that they are largely a success in terms of balancing safety and operation efficiency. Between 2004, when the current HOS rules went into effect, and 2008, truck-car crash fatalities declined 19%, truck occupant fatalities in crashes dropped 16%, and truck-car crash related injuries fell 21%, he explained. "Based on this record of highway safety, the current rules should be retained," Osiecki said.

Anne Ferro, newly installed administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) kicked off the agency's first public 'listening session' on reforming hours of service (HOS) regulations by calling for comments from all corners withinFMCSA's David Osiecki, vp-safety & operations for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), staked out the trucking industry's position on the current HOS rules -- namely, that they are largely a success in terms of balancing safety and operation efficiency. BetwPublic Citizen is but one advocacy group opposed to retaining the current HOS rules, with Lena Pons, a policy analyst for the group, declaring that FMCSA
Steve Keppler, interim executive director for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), stressed to the panel of FMCSA officials that any revision of HOS regulations Richard Reiser, executive vp and general counsel for truckload carrier Werner Enterprises, said his company spent $2 million to get its operations in compliance ahead of the implementation of revised HOS rules back in 2004 and so hopes the agency makes onC. Randal Mullett, vp-government affairs and public relations for Con-way, said any revision of current HOS rules should address actual safety risks -- not perceived risks. David Owen, president of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, told the FMCSA listening panel that since the current HOS rules were put in place, there's been
Ron Nofziger, director of government affairs for the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), said that one area the current HOS rules totally neglect is the impact excessive wait time caused by shippers and receivers has on a truck driversMarsha Vande Hei, director of regulatory compliance for truckload carrier Schneider National, stressed to FMCSA's executives that dealing with sleep disorders, and not HOS rules, should be the agency's focus. Norman Glover, a former truck driver and now a manager with a retail grocery chain fleet, said the current HOS rules need to be updated to give drivers more flexibility so they can better manage their work time around traffic and weather conditions. The FMCSA's first public 'listening session' was held in Arlington, Va., in a hotel near the Pentagon -- headquarters for the U.S. Armed Forces. Designed to elicit comments from within and without the trucking industry on the agency's effort to reform HOS

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