September 2, 2004

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking to stay further action in Public Citizen Et. Al v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Staying the court's decision would allow the agency time to address and to correct the concerns of the court about the new hours-of-service rule.

If granted, the motion would mean the new hours-of-service (HOS) rule, announced in April 2003, would remain in effect for the time being. After consultations with Federal and State officials, the agency believes a stay is necessary to avoid substantial disruption in the enforcement of HOS requirements, as it remains unclear as to what safety regime would emerge. Changing rules would produce a potentially uncertain and problematic patchwork of enforcement obligations, thereby causing significant confusion and substantially hampered enforcement.

While the court weighs the agency's motion, the agency is moving forward to address issues raised by the court. On September 1, 2004 the Federal Register will publish of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) describing the agency's request for information pertaining to the costs and benefits associated with Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs). Already, the agency has entered into contracts with several entities for literature reviews pertaining to the effect of hours of service regulations on driver health. These actions will produce necessary information contributing to a revised hours-of-service rule.

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