Hours of Service of Drivers

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 49 CFR Parts 385, 390 and 395 [Docket No. FMCSA-2004-19608; formerly FMCSA-1997-2350] RIN-2126-AA90 AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: FMCSA is publishing today its final rule governing hours of service for commercial motor vehicle drivers, following its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published January 24, 2005. The rule addresses requirements for driving, duty, and off-duty time; a recovery period, sleeper berth, and new requirements for short-haul drivers. The hours-of-service regulations published on April 28, 2003, were vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 16, 2004. Congress subsequently provided, through the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, that the 2003 regulations will remain in effect until the effective date of a new final rule addressing the issues raised by the court or September 30, 2005, whichever occurs first. Today's rule meets that requirement. DATES: This rule is effective October 1, 2005. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Yager, Chief, Driver and Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations (MC-PSD), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street. S.W., Washington, DC 20590. Phone 202-366-4009, E-mail MCPSD@fmcsa.dot.gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents A. Legal Basis for the Rulemaking B. Background Infor…