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It’s nice when government officials do the right thing. We’re referring to the statement by a senior Department of Transportation official last week that it is very unlikely that a final hours-of-service regulation will be issued this year.

	More HOS Coverage
	Hart: No Hours Rule This Year (June 26) Kansas City Hours Hearing Draws 200-Plus Truckers (June 26) McCormick: ATA Prepared for Hours Fight (June 26) How to Submit Comments on the Hours Proposal DOT Hearing Schedule
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We understand the desire of Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater to close the book on the regulatory revamping that he started years ago when he was federal highway administrator, but this issue is just too important to both trucking and the nation as a whole to push out the door.

Giving due consideration to the 1,000 comments a day that have been coming in to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will take some time, Clyde J. Hart Jr., the agency’s acting deputy administrator, told Congress last week. And Hart said he plans to stick around until the rule is finalized or until the next administration replaces him.

That’s good news as well. Hart came to the agency last month with plans to stay 90 days before returning to his position as head of the Federal Maritime Administration. Hart is a seasoned bureaucrat with experience at the former Interstate Commerce Commission as well as on Capitol Hill as a top aide to the Senate Commerce Committee.

Hart is more than capable of ensuring that FMCSA reviews all the comments on the hours-of-service proposal and makes needed changes so the rule will be based on sound science. He will also provide guidance to the agency is it works on other overdue regulations.

As we’ve been saying, virtually everyone agrees that the hours-of-service rules need to be rewritten. But about the only thing that most people agree on concerning DOT’s current offering is that it’s not much of an improvement.

This project is way too important to hurry. Now that DOT officials have apparently accepted that the final rulemaking won’t be done before the next administration is in the White House, there’s no longer any need to rush to judgment.

That’s good news for everyone concerned. Now all sides can calmly sit down at the negotiating table, with sharp pencils and thick erasers, and get to work formulating a plan that makes sense.

For the full story, see the June 26 print edition of Transport Topics. .