U.S. Representative John Boozman (R-AR) has introduced legislation to change hours of service rules to allow drivers to take meal or rest breaks off the clock.

Boozman represents the Third District of Arkansas, home to Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private fleet operator and J.B. Hunt, the second-largest commercial truckload carrier.
The current hours of service rule has been republished by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration after a federal appellate court vacated the rule last year. The judge in that case said the rule failed to consider the effects on the health of drivers.
“The court’s decision highlights the fact that the health of the driver is an important contributing factor to safe driving,” said Boozman said in a press release statement. “While FMCSA may have thought that giving the drivers more consecutive rest time would be beneficial, the reality is, the rule has actually forced them to push harder to complete their workload. This makes for an unnecessary strain on truckers and creates more incidents of driver fatigue.”
Probably the two most critical elements of the new hours of service rules that went in to effect in January of last year were the move to a 24-hour clock and the elimination of just such off-duty breaks in the course of a day’s work.
Boozman’s legislation would allow truck drivers to take up to two hours of off-duty time during their daily tour of duty.