Trucking rule change examined
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, ranking member of the Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, held a hearing Tuesday to examine a proposed rule about how many hours a trucker can drive.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released the rule called, “Hours of Service” for freight trucks, and there is a growing concern that if these new regulations go into effect, they could result in higher overhead costs for many small businesses that rely on freight trucks to deliver their goods as well as cause difficulties for small trucking operations, according to a release from Altmire's office.
Rusty Rader, the CFO of J.J. Kennedy Inc., a family owned ready mix concrete business in Fombell, Beaver County, testified on the burden the new rules would cause to his small business.
The changes proposed by the motor carrier administration include reducing maximum driving time from 11 to 10 hours, mandating that drivers be off-duty during two consecutive nights in a seven-day period, requiring periodic 30-minute breaks, and holding drivers to a strict 14-hour operating window. The new regulations are scheduled to go into effect in October.
“Companies need to have the flexibility to give breaks as the schedule dictates throughout the day,” Rader said in the news release.
“Concrete is a perishable product, and once a delivery is started it must be completed or the concrete may harden in the truck causing thousands of dollars worth of damage, and potentially violating a delivery contract.”
In the release, Altmire said. “The current rules allow businesses to meet the schedules and demands of their customers. If these regulations were to go into effect, the flexibility that has allowed many businesses to succeed on their own terms would be eliminated.”
