ATA has filed a motion to intervene in Public Citizen’s latest challenge to the FMCSA hours of service rules.

On Feb. 27, Public Citizen withdrew its petition for reconsideration before the agency and immediately filed suit in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Although its initial filing with the court does not outline the issues it will pursue, the reconsideration petition challenged the 11-hour daily driving time limit; the 34-hour restart; and the failure of the agency to immediately mandate EOBRS. It also claimed FMCSA had not properly considered driver health in formulating the rules.
ATA, as a participant in the underlying rulemaking, may intervene as a matter of right and will be accorded full party status in the litigation. ATA’s brief supporting the challenged aspects of the HOS rules will focus on how they advance public safety while meeting the operational needs of the trucking industry.
Prosecution of the case – through briefing, oral argument and to a final decision – is expected to take about a year from the filing date.