New Trucker Rules Overturned byCourt(arbitrary/capricious-health ignored

[papau]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBKJAYHQWD.html

New Trucker Rules Overturned by Court
By Leslie Miller
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal court on Friday threw out new rules extending the amount of time commercial truckers can drive between breaks.

The rules, issued in December, allow truckers to stay on the road for up to 11 straight hours, one more hour than they had been allowed. But they also required drivers to take at least 10 hours off between shifts, two more than before.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia wrote that the rule changes were "arbitrary and capricious." The court said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency that imposed the rules, failed to consider "drivers' health in the slightest," as required by law. <snip>

Safety groups opposed the rules because they said they would result in more dangerously fatigued truckers on the road.

[4dsc]

1. I can this about this law

It messed up and drivers a cheating more and driving tired..I have heard that companies are asking their drivers to cheat too.

[lil-petunia]

2. wasn't there a crazy

who threatened the president unless the rules were dropped?

actually, I've done a lot of work on sleep, fatigue and incidence of fatal truck-car accidents. The new rules were based solely on safety. Sure, it would have taken some time to get the companies used to it, not to mention the drivers, but, they were more realistic and based on hard studies and sleep deprivation science.

pity that the judge missed the boat on this one.

[papau]

3. Sleepy driver is #1problem to other folks on highway -as well as health of

driver.

That is reason Public Citizen and highway safety groups went to court to overturn these Bush "safety rule changes".

It would have been "Bush allowing death on the highway" in order to increase truck owner profits.