MCLEAN, VA – The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) has urged Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters to bring resolution to a U.S. Court of Appeals decision vacating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 2005 Hours-of-Service (HoS) regulations. A July 2007 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated two HoS provisions citing various procedural issues identified during the rulemaking process, but did not say that the rules were unsafe.

In 2003, the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued rules that permitted truckers to increase the number of hours worked. The rules allowed truckers to drive 11 hours per day and to “restart” their 60-hour weekly limit by taking 34 consecutive hours off duty. After a challenge by a group of petitioners led by Public Citizen, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the rules, finding that FMCSA “failed to consider the impact of the rules on the health of drivers.”

In response to the Court’s action, FMCSA created a model aimed at assessing a truck driver’s fatigue and promulgated new rules that became effective October 2005. These new rules were almost identical to the 2003 rules, and again were the target of a judicial challenge by Public Citizen. The interest group charged that FMCSA failed to provide the public an opportunity for notice and comment on the driver fatigue model, which was used as the basis for the new rule.

On July 24, 2007, citing inadequate explanation as to the reason for the new rules and FMCSA’s failure to provide a public notice and comment period, the Court sided with Public Citizen and vacated the provisions in the rule that increased the daily driving limit from 10 to 11 hours and required 34 consecutive hours of rest.

In a letter to Secretary Peters, AFFI President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Sarasin requested that the U.S. Department of Transportation work with the Court to reverse the decision that overturned the regulations.

“AFFI encourages and supports the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration in reissuing an expedited rulemaking notice focusing specifically on the procedural issues identified by the U.S. Court of Appeals,” Sarasin said. “We believe the recent court ruling will result in serious disruption to trucking and distribution operations. Changes to the existing regulations will deliver a serious financial blow to American companies and will result in an overall loss of productivity.”

The American Frozen Food Institute is the national trade association that promotes and represents the interests of all segments of the frozen food industry. The Institute fosters industry development and growth, advocates on behalf of the industry before legislative and regulatory entities, and provides additional value-added services for its members and for the benefit of consumers. For more information, visit www.affi.org.