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Feds eye cut in long-haul hours

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is considering the establishment of a 10-hour driving limit for long-haul truckers. The Federal Motor Carrier Administration said yesterday it favors reducing the current 11-hour limit by an hour. But the agency is accepting comments on whether to change the rule.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is considering the establishment of a 10-hour driving limit for long-haul truckers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Administration said yesterday it favors reducing the current 11-hour limit by an hour. But the agency is accepting comments on whether to change the rule.

The Obama administration has been considering whether to rewrite rules passed in the waning hours of the Bush administration that allowed commercial truckers to drive 11 consecutive hours before resting. That changed a six-decade standard for truckers.

The administration is "leaning" toward the change, said Henry Jasny, general counsel with Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "They didn't say they are going to do it."

Administration officials have been looking at changes since an October 2009 agreement with safety and labor groups who, in return, shelved a third lawsuit over the rules.

The Bush administration also cut rest and recovery time at the end of a work week to as little as 34 hours off duty, from the previous guideline of from 50 or more hours.