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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Government trucking regulators on Friday asked a federal court to delay a requirement that would reduce by one hour the time truckers can drive continuously. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Friday requested a 12-month stay from a mandate of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court has ordered the daily driving limit be cut to 10 hours for long-haul truckers. The action supports a request made by the American Trucking Associations earlier this month for an 8-month stay. The agency backed the trade group's assertions that reducing the limit this month would be expensive and require it to retrain drivers and operating personnel, reprint logs, reengineer routes and make other changes. The enforcement of the new requirements "will also be subject to substantial disruption from the confusion that will result if a stay is not granted," according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration filing. The ATA, whose members include United Parcel Service Inc., FedEx Corp., JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. and YRC Worldwide, welcomed the federal agency's action. But safety advocates, including Washington-based watchdog group Public Citizen, have applauded the court's ruling because they say the industry is putting the public at risk by allowing truckers to drive too many hours. Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, said it filed a memorandum Friday opposing any stays of the new rule because federal regulators used the same tactic two years ago to maintain the old requirements.
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