According to Public Citizen, one of the groups that brought suit against DOT, the agency had failed to meet congressional deadlines for issuing the safety rules but has now agreed to issue the rules within the next year and a half – beginning with a rule on drivers’ hours-of-service this spring.

Other rules relate to such key issues as hazardous materials, background checks for drivers and training requirements for multi-trailer rigs.

Safety advocates filed suit in November 2002 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia because DOT had missed deadlines set by Congress to address safety issues by as much as 10 years.

Under the agreement, DOT has agreed to issue final rules pertaining to truck driver fatigue and required rest periods, hours-of-service and other fatigue-related issues.

Final rules will also be issued for minimum training standards for entry-level drivers of commercial motor vehicles, minimum training requirements for drivers of longer-combination vehicles, requirements for authorization to transport hazardous materials and background checks for new commercial drivers, including what information prospective employers are required to obtain and what information prior employers are required to provide.

The safety groups will partially stay their lawsuit pending DOT’s rulemaking proceedings. If the agency fails to meet any of the deadlines it has agreed to in the settlement, the groups will be able to go to court to enforce the deadlines.