The Intermodal Association of North America, along with 14 other trade associations, filed a joint amici curiae brief in a legal challenge to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Hours of Service Final Rule. IANA believes that the previous Hours of Service rules served the public well and created a regulatory framework that improved safety over the past decade.
IANA participated in the joint filing in support of the American Trucking Associations legal challenge based on the Association’s concern that the required rest periods of the 34-hour restart provision could adversely impact the efficiency of intermodal motor carriers that provide rail and port terminal drayage services, since many intermodal facilities are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The amici brief also argues that FMCSA failed to consider the additional costs to carriers, shippers, receivers, and transportation intermediaries when evaluating changes to the rule.
“Because intermodal stakeholders are dependent on each other, a negative impact that affects one will likely have a ripple effect across the entire supply chain,” said IANA President and CEO Joni Casey. “The 34-hour restart change is particularly problematic as it will reduce a driver’s present work week and impede the scheduling flexibility necessary to service the hundreds of rail and port facilities in the U.S.”
The National Retail Federation and its National Council of Chain Restaurants division also participated in the joint filing.
“It is the retail industry’s responsibility to get products to market and into consumers’ hands in a safe and timely manner,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Any new regulation that impedes that ability increases our transportation costs, increases consumer prices, and jeopardizes the fragile economic recovery.”
The joint brief also supports another FMCSA decision that preserved the 14-hour driving window and 11-hour on-time driving requirement.
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