Truckers Brace For New Rules On Driving Times
New Rules To Limit Truckers' Overnight Driving
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Monday morning commutes from now on could be a little slower than you've been used to, starting next week.
On Monday, new federal safety regulations go into effect for truck drivers and long-distance bus drivers.
It'll require that, when they take their weekends—two nights off in a row—that they also not drive during the hours of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. the day they go back to work.
"What you're going to see is that the truck traffic that used to hit the road at 1, 2, or 3 a.m, now they're going to be forced to wait until 5 a.m., and I think at 5 a.m. on Monday mornings, you're going to see a glut of trucks hit the road," said Matthew Hart, executive director of the Illinois Trucking Association.
Hart predicted slower Monday morning commutes and higher shipping costs, because of that, and other new rest rules, including one requiring drivers to take a 30-minute rest period during their first 8 hours of driving each day.
Federal regulators have said the rules will make the roads safer.
