WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Highway Administration is ready to propose new limits on the number of hours truckers can drive each day, the first change in their work rules in more than 60 years.
The agency, in a rule anticipated this fall, is expected to force drivers to be off duty for at least 14 hours in a 24-hour period, according to trucking industry sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.Gail Shibley, spokeswoman for the Highway Administration, refused to discuss the specifics, pending release of the rule.
Currently, truckers are limited to 10 hours behind the wheel in one stretch. They then must stop driving for eight hours. After that, they can resume driving for up to 10 more hours.
The Highway Administration contends that if truckers are ordered off the road for 14 hours in a 24-hour period, it will improve the chances they get at least eight hours of sleep during their down time, the sources said.
Last year, 5,302 people were killed in truck-related accidents on the nation's highways, according to preliminary figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
That is a slight drop from 1997 and part of an overall trend in which the truck-related highway fatality rate has been falling, despite increased trucking mileage fueled by cheaper gas and an increase in just-in-time business deliveries.
Nonetheless, over 3 percent of the truck-related accidents were caused by drowsy truckers, and there has been talk for years about ways to improve truck safety.
Just this week, Congress and the Clinton administration unveiled competing truck-safety legislation.
The nation's largest truckers group, the American Trucking Associations, questioned the Highway Administration's proposal. It sent a letter to the agency Thursday asking it to explain the science behind its proposal.