I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5417 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue or revise regulations 

enhancing flexibility in hours of service requirements for drivers of certain property-carrying vehicles, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2018 

Mr. BABIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue or revise 

regulations enhancing flexibility in hours of service requirements for drivers of certain property-carrying vehicles, 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 ‘‘Responsible and Effec5 tive Standards for Truckers Act’’ or the ‘‘REST Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5417 IH

1 (1) The livelihood and personal well-being of 

2 professional drivers is dependent on the safe oper3 ation of a commercial motor vehicle. 

4 (2) The current hours of service requirements 

5 for professional drivers, including the 30-minute 

6 break rule, fail to reflect the realities of the trucking 

7 industry. 

8 (3) Professional drivers consistently identify the 

9 current hours of service requirements as counter10 productive and an impediment to improving highway 

11 safety. 

12 (4) The rigid nature of the current hours of 

13 service requirements often compel professional driv14 ers to be on the road when they are tired or fa15 tigued, during rush hour traffic or other periods of 

16 highway congestion, during adverse weather condi17 tions, or when they are simply not feeling well. 

18 (5) The current hours of service requirements 

19 have not resulted in statistical improvements to 

20 highway safety. 

21 (6) Rather than decrease, the total number of 

22 crashes involving large trucks, as well as fatal crash23 es involving large trucks, has increased since the in24 troduction of the current hours of service require25 ments. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5417 IH

1 (7) Greater flexibility in hours of service re2 quirements would better allow professional drivers to 

3 rest when they feel it appropriate and avoid conges4 tion, adverse weather conditions, or other road con5 ditions that decrease safety. 

6 (8) The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis7 tration has noted the majority of sleep studies dem8 onstrate that well-timed sleep has either a positive 

9 or no effect on subsequent neurobehavioral perform10 ance. 

11 (9) The current maximum driving time and 

12 minimum rest period for professional drivers remain 

13 intact. 

14 (10) The lack of flexibility in the current hours 

15 of service requirements, coupled with additional fed16 eral regulations, has worsened the truck parking cri17 sis. 

18 (11) Federal hours of service requirements 

19 should improve highway safety for all users. 

20 SEC. 3. FLEXIBILITY IN HOURS OF SERVICE REQUIRE21 MENTS FOR DRIVERS OF CERTAIN PROP22 ERTY-CARRYING VEHICLES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor25 tation shall issue or revise regulations to ensure that— 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5417 IH

1 (1) a covered driver may suspend an on-duty 

2 period of the driver by an amount of time that is 

3 equal to a single off-duty rest break carried out by 

4 the driver during such on-duty period, provided the 

5 suspension— 

6 (A) does not exceed 3 hours; and 

7 (B) does not extend the total drive time 

8 limits contained in section 395.3(a)(3) of title 

9 49, Code of Federal Regulations; and 

10 (2) no other requirements relating to rest 

11 breaks during an on-duty period, including the re12 quirement specified in section 395.3(a)(3)(ii) of title 

13 49, Code of Federal Regulations, apply to a covered 

14 driver. 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi16 nitions apply: 

17 (1) COVERED DRIVER.—The term ‘‘covered 

18 driver’’ means a driver to whom section 395.3 of 

19 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc20 cessor regulation, applies. 

21 (2) ON-DUTY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘on-duty pe22 riod’’ means the 14-hour period during which a cov23 ered driver is permitted to drive after coming on 

24 duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS