The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has posted long-awaited proposed revisions to the hours of service rule.


Key provisions:

* Keep the 34-hour restart but require two consecutive off-duty periods from midnight to 6 a.m. in that period.

* Keep the 14-hour workday but require completion of all on-duty work-related activities within 13 hours to allow for at least a one-hour break.

* The agency favors cutting the daily driving limit to 10 hours but is looking for comments on whether or not to keep the 11-hour limit.

* Consider the option of extending a driver's daily shift to 16 hours twice a week to accommodate for circumstances such as loading and unloading, and allowing drivers to count some time spent parked in their trucks toward off-duty hours.

The proposal will be published in the Federal Register on December 29. A 60-day comment period will follow. The proposal can be read at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/HOS.

Story corrected 12/23/2010, 2:30 EST, to remove incorrect statement about listening sessions being planned.