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 cer-
tain 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 re-
quirements for drivers of certain property-carrying vehi-
cles, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsible and Effec-
tive Standards for Truckers Act’’ or the ‘‘REST Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The livelihood and personal well-being of 
professional drivers is dependent on the safe oper-
ation of a commercial motor vehicle. 
(2) The current hours of service requirements 
for professional drivers, including the 30-minute 
break rule, fail to reflect the realities of the trucking 
industry. 
(3) Professional drivers consistently identify the 
current hours of service requirements as counter-
productive and an impediment to improving highway 
safety. 
(4) The rigid nature of the current hours of 
service requirements often compel professional driv-
ers to be on the road when they are tired or fa-
tigued, during rush hour traffic or other periods of 
highway congestion, during adverse weather condi-
tions, or when they are simply not feeling well. 
(5) The current hours of service requirements 
have not resulted in statistical improvements to 
highway safety. 
(6) Rather than decrease, the total number of 
crashes involving large trucks, as well as fatal crash-
es involving large trucks, has increased since the in-
troduction of the current hours of service require-
ments. 
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(7) Greater flexibility in hours of service re-
quirements would better allow professional drivers to 
rest when they feel it appropriate and avoid conges-
tion, adverse weather conditions, or other road con-
ditions that decrease safety. 
(8) The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis-
tration has noted the majority of sleep studies dem-
onstrate that well-timed sleep has either a positive 
or no effect on subsequent neurobehavioral perform-
ance. 
(9) The current maximum driving time and 
minimum rest period for professional drivers remain 
intact. 
(10) The lack of flexibility in the current hours 
of service requirements, coupled with additional fed-
eral regulations, has worsened the truck parking cri-
sis. 
(11) Federal hours of service requirements 
should improve highway safety for all users. 
SEC. 3. FLEXIBILITY IN HOURS OF SERVICE REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR DRIVERS OF CERTAIN PROP-
ERTY-CARRYING VEHICLES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall issue or revise regulations to ensure that— 
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(1) a covered driver may suspend an on-duty 
period of the driver by an amount of time that is 
equal to a single off-duty rest break carried out by 
the driver during such on-duty period, provided the 
suspension— 
(A) does not exceed 3 hours; and 
(B) does not extend the total drive time 
limits contained in section 395.3(a)(3) of title 
49, Code of Federal Regulations; and 
(2) no other requirements relating to rest 
breaks during an on-duty period, including the re-
quirement specified in section 395.3(a)(3)(ii) of title 
49, Code of Federal Regulations, apply to a covered 
driver. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) COVERED
DRIVER.—The term ‘‘covered 
driver’’ means a driver to whom section 395.3 of 
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc-
cessor regulation, applies. 
(2) ON-DUTY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘on-duty pe-
riod’’ means the 14-hour period during which a cov-
ered driver is permitted to drive after coming on 
duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. 
Æ 
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