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New regulatory guidance restricting the use of an hours-of-service exemption for some drivers involved in oil and gas drilling operations is increasing operating costs for the affected carriers, executives told federal regulators.

The Department of Transportation has waived hours-of-service regulations for areas affected by drought, to help put more needed trucks and drivers on the road to help affected farmers and ranchers.

The Intermodal Association of North America has filed a legal brief supporting American Trucking Associations’ suit challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service rule.

Changes announced in December to the federal hours-of-service rule rely on a “sham” of an analysis and unjustifiable assumptions, American Trucking Associations told a federal court last week, urging the court to overturn the provisions of the rule that restrict the 34-hour restart and require an off-duty break.

The hours-of-service rules set to take effect next year for truck drivers will add a significant cost to the trucking industry without providing much of a benefit, American Trucking Associations said Tuesday in a court filing.

Federal regulatory “guidance” issued in June restricting the number of oil and gas drivers allowed to extend their workdays beyond the 14-hour limit could have significant adverse economic and safety implications for the trucking industry, several truckers said in comments filed earlier this month.

Truck drivers hauling water and sand to U.S. oil and natural gas shale wells cannot extend their daily driving hours by using an exemption targeted for special oilfield service equipment, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing the Department of Transportation.

Truckers who work for oilfield and natural gas companies have higher rates of accidents and fatalities than the trucking industry, due to longer hours and hours-of-service rule exemptions, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Three advocacy groups filed a lawsuit last month to challenge the federal hours-of-service rule published in December, seeking to overturn the rule, which they say does not go far enough to prevent fatigue among truck drivers.

Highway safety advocates filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the hours-of-service rule published in December, saying it does not go far enough in addressing driver fatigue.