Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety v. Fed. Motor Carrier Safety Admin.
| Decision Date | 26 July 2022 |
| Docket Number | 20-1370 |
| Citation | 41 F.4th 586 |
| Parties | ADVOCATES FOR HIGHWAY AND AUTO SAFETY, et al., Petitioners v. FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, et al., Respondents Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn., Inc., Intervenor |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Adina H. Rosenbaum argued the cause for petitioners. With her on the briefs was Scott L. Nelson.
Brian J. Springer, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Abby C. Wright, Attorney, John E. Putnam, Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department of Transportation, Paul M. Geier, Assistant General Counsel for Litigation and Enforcement, and Peter J. Plocki, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Litigation and Enforcement.
Paul D. Cullen, Jr. argued the cause for intervenor Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. in support of respondents. With him on the brief was Charles R. Stinson.
Before: Rogers, Millett, and Katsas, Circuit Judges.
In 2020, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration modified its regulations governing the maximum hours that commercial motor vehicle operators may drive or operate within a certain timeframe. Hours of Service of Drivers, 85 Fed. Reg. 33,396 (June 1, 2020) ("Final Rule"). The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union representing commercial truck drivers, and three national nonprofit organizations petitioned for review. They argue that the Final Rule was arbitrary and capricious for failing to grapple with the safety and driver-health consequences of changes to recordkeeping rules for short-haul commercial vehicle drivers and break requirements for long-haul drivers.
Because the modifications to the hours-of-service rules were sufficiently explained and grounded in the administrative record, we deny the petition.
For almost a century, the federal government has regulated the work hours of commercial truck drivers and operators of other commercial motor vehicles. See 49 U.S.C. § 31132(1) (defining "commercial motor vehicle"); 49 C.F.R. § 350.105 (same). One such limitation is a cap on the time that such drivers can work or drive within a particular time frame. Hours-of-service rules also often limit the distance that can be driven during those time periods and impose recordkeeping requirements to enforce compliance.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("Administration") is the agency currently charged with regulating the safe operation of commercial vehicles.1 Congress established the Administration in 1999 because the "rate, number, and severity of crashes involving motor carriers in the United States [were] unacceptable." Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, Pub. L. No. 106-159, § 3(1), 113 Stat. 1748, 1749. Because of that safety concern, Congress charged the Administration with making the "maintenance of safety * * * the highest priority" in its regulatory decisionmaking, "recognizing the clear intent, encouragement, and dedication of Congress to the furtherance of the highest degree of safety in motor carrier transportation." 49 U.S.C. § 113(b). At the same time, before promulgating regulations, the Administration must consider the "costs and benefits" of its proposals "to the extent practicable and consistent with the purposes of" federal legislation on commercial motor vehicle safety. 49 U.S.C. § 31136(c)(2), (c)(2)(A) ; see Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-554, §§ 201, 206, 98 Stat. 2832, 2834.
The Administration is tasked with promulgating regulations that "[a]t a minimum" ensure that:
The Administration continues to rely on hours-of-service limitations as a linchpin regulatory measure to ensure the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles. Two of those regulations are at issue here: a special recordkeeping exemption for short-haul drivers, 49 C.F.R. § 395.1(e)(1), and the requirement that long-haul drivers take a 30-minute break at set intervals, 49 C.F.R. § 395.3(a)(3)(ii).
Federal hours-of-service restrictions have a long regulatory history that bears on the issues before us.
The Interstate Commerce Commission implemented the first hours-of-service regulation in 1938. See Order in the Matter of Maximum Hours of Service of Motor Carrier Employees, 3 Fed. Reg. 9 (Jan. 4, 1938). From their inception, limiting (i) the total working hours per day ("on-duty time"), (ii) drivers’ time behind the wheel, and (iii) weekly hours worked has been the core of hours-of-service regulations.
The original rule set a maximum of 60 hours of "on duty" time in any week, and generally no more than 15 hours in any 24-hour period. 3 Fed. Reg. at 9. Within those 15 hours of on-duty time, the rule, as amended, did not permit "driv[ing] or operat[ing] a motor vehicle for more than 10 hours" in a 24-hour period, unless the driver was "off duty for 8 consecutive hours during or immediately following" the 10-hour driving period. Order in the Matter of Maximum Hours of Service of Motor Carrier Employees, 3 Fed. Reg. 1875, 1876 (July 28, 1938) ; see also 49 C.F.R. part 191 (Supp. 1938). Under the regulation, drivers were considered to be "on duty" from the time they began work or were required to be in readiness to work until the time they were relieved from all work responsibilities. Id. Time in a truck's sleeping berth did not count as on-duty time. Id.
The hours-of-service rules imposed recordkeeping requirements on drivers, including that they keep a detailed daily log documenting, among other things, both their on-duty hours and time behind the wheel. 3 Fed. Reg. at 9 ; see also Qualifications and Maximum Hours of Service of Employees of Motor Carriers and Safety of Operation and Equipment, 27 Fed. Reg. 3553, 3554 (April 13, 1962).
In 1962, the Interstate Commerce Commission created an exemption from the driver-log recordkeeping requirements for short-haul drivers. 27 Fed. Reg. at 3554. At that time, a short-haul driver was "any regularly employed driver who drives wholly within a radius of fifty miles of the garage or terminal at which he reports for work[.]" Id. But short-haul drivers still had to maintain "records showing the total number of hours the driver is on duty per day and the time at which the driver reports for and is released from duty each day[.]" Id.
The Commission later expanded the short-haul driver exemption to a 100-mile radius. See Hours of Service of Drivers; 100-Mile Exemption—Driver's Logs, 45 Fed. Reg. 22,042, 22,043 (April 3, 1980). At the same time, the rule imposed a 12-hour limit for on-duty hours so that the short-haul exemption would apply only if the driver returned to the place where he or she reported to work within 12 hours. Id.
The Commission justified expanding the short-haul exemption, in part because it perceived "no difference between enforcing the hours of service regulations with a 50-mile radius exemption * * * and enforcing the regulations with a 100-mile radius exemption[.]" 45 Fed. Reg. at 22,043. The Commission, though, maintained the 12-hour limitation because "[t]he requirement that the motor carrier prepare and retain true and accurate time records, coupled with the 12-hour [on duty] limitation, ensures that adequate records are available to determine driver compliance with the hours of service regulations." Id.
In 1995, Congress separately mandated regulations "dealing with a variety of fatigue-related issues pertaining to commercial motor vehicle * * * safety[.]" 49 U.S.C. § 31136 note (citation omitted); see Owner-Operator Indep. Drivers Ass'n v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin. , 494 F.3d 188, 194 (D.C. Cir. 2007). Having recently assumed regulatory jurisdiction, the Administration promulgated a rule for property-carrying commercial motor vehicles that "increase[d] required time off duty from 8 to 10 consecutive hours; prohibit[ed] driving after the end of the 14th hour after the driver began work; [and] allow[ed] an increase in driving time from 10 to 11 hours[.]" Hours of Service of Drivers; Driver Rest and Sleep for Safe Operations, 68 Fed. Reg. 22,456, 22,457 (April 28, 2003) ; see id. at 22,501. The new rule allowed short-haul drivers to drive up to 16 hours one day a week. Id. at 22,471.
This court vacated the 2003 rule in its entirety because "the agency failed to consider the impact of the rule[ ] on the health of drivers, a factor the agency must consider under its organic statute." Public Citizen v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin. , 374 F.3d 1209, 1216 (D.C. Cir. 2004).
The Administration issued a new rule in 2005 that required all drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles to take a minimum of 10 consecutive hours off duty, "limit[ed] [their] driving time to 11 consecutive hours within a 14-hour, non-extendable window after coming on duty, and prohibit[ed] driving after the driver has been on duty 60 hours in 7 consecutive days, or 70 hours in 8 consecutive days." Hours of Service of Drivers, 70 Fed. Reg. 49,978, 49,980 (Aug. 25, 2005) ("2005 Rule").
The 2005 Rule also created a new type of short-haul...
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