U.S. long-haul truck drivers can continue to spend as much as 11 hours a day behind the wheel, after a federal agency refused to return to lower limits sought by safety advocates.
The U.S. Transportation Department, in an interim rule issued Tuesday, sided with the trucking industry and upheld a 2004 increase in daily driving time from 10 hours. The rule also keeps a 14-hour daily limit for drivers to be on duty.
"There have been a lot of allegations and innuendo" about greater safety risks since the longer workdays began, John Hill, the top U.S. trucking regulator, said Tuesday. "What the data show is that is untrue."
The rule is a win for the American Trucking Associations trade group, whose members include United Parcel Service and YRC Worldwide. Trucking companies said shorter workdays boost costs by requiring more drivers to move the same amount of freight, while consumer groups such as Public Citizen say drivers who work fewer hours are less likely to have accidents.
The new rule also permits drivers reaching 60 hours on-duty in seven days to return to work after 34 hours. Before 2004, they had to wait out the seven-day period.
Public Citizen will challenge the rule in court if the final version retains the longer hours, said Joan Claybrook, president of the organization. Regulators may publish the final rule next year, she said.
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