("Canadian Transportation & Logistics")
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has filed a motion in the United States Court of Appeals in support of the Federal Motor Carrier Administration's efforts to keep the existing hours
of service rules in place while the agency deals with the issues raised by the court in its July 2004 decision.
CTA has asked the court to grant it amicus curiae - or "friend of the court" - status so
that the Alliance's arguments supporting FMCSA's motion for a stay are taken into account.
Should the agency's motion be denied, it would have no choice but to reinstate the previous hours of service rule for
some indeterminate period while it attempts to put in place a revised rule or otherwise deal with the concerns raised by the court.
The American Trucking Associations and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
last week also filed motions in support of FMCSA's request for a stay.
CTA told the court that it "offers a perspective that is not represented by any of the parties.No other party to the proceeding
represents the thousands of Canadian trucking companies that will be affected by this court's decision.
"This court's vacating of the current federal HOS rules will result in a hodgepodge of hours of service
rules at the state level, with some states applying the former rules, other states applying FMCSA's current rules, and others not being able to apply any rules," says CTA.
The Alliance told the court that
unless the July ruling is stayed, an estimated 75,000 to 80,000 Canadian-based drivers operating into the US will need to be trained on the former rules and then retrained on whatever rules are put in place once the
current legal proceedings are concluded. In addition, carriers will have to reprogram their computer systems to schedule driving times, pickups and deliveries, as well as rest and fueling stops. The Alliance concluded
that, "the aggregate cost of education, training and adjustment of systems will be in the tens of millions of dollars.Carriers will face incurring all these costs again when the FMCSA issues its next hours of
service regulations in compliance with the court's directive."
It is expected that the court will issue its decision on FMCSA's request for a stay some time after September 17th. |
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