Appeals court grants HOS intervention request

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted a request by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) to intervene in Public Citizen's latest challenge to the hours-of-service rules (HOS), according to ATA information.

Public Citizen is expected to challenge the new rules' 11-hour daily driving time limit; the 34-hour restart; and the agency's decision not to immediately mandate electronic on-board recorders.

Also granted intervention in support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration HOS rules was NASSTRAC Inc; The Health and Personal Care Logistics Conference Inc; and United Parcel Service.

The interveners will file a joint brief in support of the challenged aspects of the HOS rules, focusing on how they advance public safety while meeting the operational needs of the trucking industry. A briefing schedule has not yet been set and final resolution of the case is expected to take until at least spring 2007, ATA said.