Good News for Drivers?
The Collins Amendment language suspends the restriction on the use of the so-called 34-hour restart that requires drivers to take two consecutive periods of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. off during the restart, thus lifting the restriction on using the restart more than once every 168 hours, or one week.
The bill language says that within 90 days of the enactment of the act, “the Secretary (of transportation) shall initiate a naturalistic study of the operational, safety, health and fatigue impacts of the restart provisions.” It would suspend the current restart provisions through Sept. 30, 2015, “and the restart rule (previously) in effect on June 30, 2013, shall immediately be in effect.”
– http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=36835&t=Senate-Approves-%241-Trillion-Spending-Bill-and-HOS-Provision-Suspension-Obama-Signs-into-Law
Keep in mind – The 2015 appropriations bill suspended two provisions of the 2013 HOS rule: (1) The requirement that drivers’ 34-hour restarts include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods and (2) the provision that limits the use of the restart to once per 168 hours (a week). BUT Not the 30 minute break requirement…