WASHINGTON – A federal court on Friday threw out new government rules extending the amount of time that commercial truckers can drive between breaks.
The rules, issued in December, allowed truckers to stay on the road for up to 11 straight hours, one more hour than they had been allowed. But they also required drivers to take at least 10 hours off between shifts, two more than before.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia wrote that the rules changes were “arbitrary and capricious.” The three-judge panel said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency that imposed the rules, failed to consider “drivers’ health in the slightest,” as required by law.
The court, in a 3-0 ruling, was acting on a suit brought by Public Citizen and highway safety groups. The American Trucking Associations joined the FMCSA in arguing for the new rules.
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