Moving quickly to enforce last week’s court decision on hours of service, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will no longer enforce the 30-minute break requirement for short-haul operations.

The agency is defining short-haul drivers in two ways.

First, those with or without commercial licenses who operate within 100 air miles of their normal reporting location.

Second, those who operate without a commercial license within a 150 air-mile radius of where they report for duty.

These are the standard definitions of short-haul drivers within Sections 395.1(e)(1 and 2) of the Code of Federal Regulations.

The agency said that even though the court’s ruling does not take effect for another month, it will immediately stop enforcement.

It is possible that this situation could change if either of the parties to the court case, American Trucking Associations and Public Citizen, takes additional legal action, the agency said.

In its decision last Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the 34-hour restart provision of the new truck driver hours of service rule but rejected the 30-minute break requirement for short-haul drivers.

About the author
Oliver Patton

Oliver Patton

Former Washington Editor

Truck journalist 36 years, who joined Heavy Duty Trucking in 1998 and has retired. He was the trucking press’ leading authority on legislative and regulatory affairs.

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