First, airline pilots were handed a new set of HOS rules. Then trucking got new marching orders from FMCSA. Bus drivers may be next. FMCSA has published a public listening session notice for motorcoach HOS.


FMCSA is seeking public comment and data on driving time and its association with safety, specifically, the Agency would like to know what factors, issues, and data may be pertinent as it considers development of a rulemaking on these requirements.

Bus companies still operate on what we in trucking call "the old HOS rules" -- 10 hours of driving time following 8 consecutive hours off duty, with driving prohibited after accumulating 15 hours of on-duty time following 8 consecutive hours off duty (15-hour rule).

Rules for driving and on-duty time for bus drivers haven't been updated in "several decades," the notice said.

Twenty-eight people have died in eight U.S. bus crashes this year. The National Transportation Safety Board warned in an Oct. 31 study that curbside operators, which account for most of the industry's growth, are seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal wreck than intercity lines with more conventional business models.

The agency will hear comments on Jan. 9 in Grapevine, Texas.

More info: Notice of Public Listening Session