II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1891 

To require a study and report by the Comptroller General regarding the 

restart provision of the Hours of Service Rules for Commercial Truck 

Drivers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2013 

Ms. AYOTTE (for herself and Mr. JOHANNS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require a study and report by the Comptroller General 

regarding the restart provision of the Hours of Service 

Rules for Commercial Truck Drivers, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘True Understanding 

5 of the Economy and Safety Act’’ or the ‘‘TRUE Safety 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the trucking industry is the backbone of the 

2 Nation’s economy, with nearly 7,000,000 Americans 

3 working in trucking-related jobs, including more 

4 than 3,000,000 commercial truck drivers; 

5 (2) 80 percent of all communities in the United 

6 States depend solely on trucks to deliver and supply 

7 their essential everyday commodities; 

8 (3) Federal regulations governing the hours of 

9 service for commercial truck drivers must be based 

10 on full and fair scientific research, analysis, and 

11 operational testing; 

12 (4) the restart rule that became effective on 

13 July 1, 2013, was based mainly on a one-month 

14 sleep study conducted in a laboratory setting; 

15 (5) the new restart rule will cost the trucking 

16 industry up to $376,000,000 annually, reducing pro17 ductivity, impacting driver pay, and increasing the 

18 cost to deliver goods; and 

19 (6) the restart rule should not have become ef20 fective prior to completion of the thorough oper21 ational study required under section 32301(a) of the 

22 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act 

23 or MAP–21 (Public Law 112–141; 126 Stat. 786). 


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1 SEC. 3. GAO ASSESSMENTS. 

2 (a) ASSESSMENT OF METHODOLOGY FOR MAP–21 

3 RESTART STUDY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the report regarding 

5 the field study on the efficacy of the restart rule, 

6 published on December 27, 2011, is submitted to 

7 Congress pursuant to section 32301(a) of MAP–21, 

8 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

9 conduct an assessment of the methodology followed 

10 by the Secretary of Transportation in carrying out 

11 the efficacy of such restart rule. 

12 (2) SCOPE.—The assessment required under 

13 paragraph (1) shall determine the extent to which 

14 the methodology followed by the Secretary meets the 

15 requirement under MAP–21 that— 

16 (A) the data collected is representative of 

17 the drivers subject to the restart rule; 

18 (B) the methodology is statistically valid; 

19 and 

20 (C) the study followed the plan for the 

21 ‘‘Scheduling and Fatigue Recovery Project’’ de22 veloped by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

23 Administration. 

24 (b) ASSESSMENT OF REGULATORY IMPACT ANAL25 YSIS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 

2 shall conduct an assessment of the regulatory impact 

3 analysis that accompanied the final rule published 

4 by the Department of Transportation in the Federal 

5 Register on December 27, 2011, entitled ‘‘Hours of 

6 Service of Drivers’’ (76 Fed. Reg. 81134). 

7 (2) SCOPE.—The assessment required under 

8 paragraph (1) shall include— 

9 (A) an analysis of the methodology and 

10 data used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

11 Administration in its Regulatory Impact Anal12 ysis; 

13 (B) an evaluation of the validity and rep14 resentativeness of the driver data used to evalu15 ate the operational and economic impacts of the 

16 new 34-hour restart rule applicable to operators 

17 of commercial motor vehicles; 

18 (C) an analysis of the data and method19 ology used to develop the proposed safety and 

20 health benefits of the new 34-hour restart rule 

21 applicable to operators of commercial motor ve22 hicles; 

23 (D) a review of the safety, health, cost, 

24 and operational implications of the restart rule, 

25 and the potential impact of a greater number of 


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1 commercial motor vehicles on major roads dur2 ing ‘‘morning commutes’’ as a result of the re3 start rule; and 

4 (E) a review of the research used in devel5 oping and justifying the new restart rule, par6 ticularly as the rule relates to the use of a lab7 oratory test to justify the rule rather than an 

8 operational test in the field. 

9 (c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

11 submit a final report to the appropriate committees of 

12 Congress on the assessments required under subsections 

13 (a) and (b), including any recommendations. 

14 SEC. 4. DELAY IN APPLICATION OF RULE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The restart rule published by the 

16 Department of Transportation in the Federal Register on 

17 December 27, 2011, shall have no force or effect during 

18 the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act and ending 6 months after the Comptroller General 

20 submits the report required under section 3(c). 

21 (b) APPLICATION OF PREVIOUS RULE PROVISION.— 

22 The 34-hour restart rule issued on April 28, 2003 (68 

23 Fed. Reg. 22456), shall be in effect during the period de24 scribed in subsection (a). 


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1 (c) DECEMBER 2011 RULE.—The Secretary of 

2 Transportation shall not apply the rule described in sub3 section (a) if the conclusions of the field study completed 

4 pursuant to section 32301(a) of MAP–21 do not support 

5 or concur with the conclusions of the laboratory study on 

6 which such rule was based. 

Æ 


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